Something Like Human
by Newland5X
Summary: COMPLETE! Grissom and Sara discover something strange in the desert and team up with a pair of FBI agents...CSIXF crossover.
1. 1

The characters aren't mine, I just like to play with them. They belong to a bunch of rich people who don't know what to do with them.

A million thanks to Lady Kes…

All my different personalities are taking turns writing this fic, so you have fair warning.

AN: This is a CSI/X-Files crossover and for the sake of this story seasons 8 & 9 of XF never happened. Mulder was never abducted by aliens and Scully was never pregnant. For the most part this is a GS story with a little Mulder and Scully. It's goofy but I just couldn't help myself. I had to put my four favorite characters together.

Science…the Geek frontier. These are the voyages of the Las Vegas CSIs. Their continuing mission: to explore strange new crime scenes; to seek out clues and evidence; to boldly go where no forensic scientist has gone before!

**_Crime Lab_**

**_Beginning of shift_**

****

****

It began as an ordinary night. The team was assembled around the table waiting for assignments. Sara was flipping through a forensics magazine, Catherine was busy drumming her fingers on the table, and Warrick and Nick were discussing which celebrities they would like to seduce. Grissom strolled in and everyone sat at attention waiting for the night's assignments.

"All right, people, the citizens of Las Vegas seem to be acting civil tonight. We have two cases. The first case might be a murder-suicide and the second is two bodies found in the desert, but that one will involve a little traveling. So, who's up for a road trip?"

"How far away is the scene?" Nick asked.

"I was told it's a little over a hundred miles. It should take no more than a couple hours to get there. But from what I was told on the phone, it may take a while. We may end up having to stay there a day or two."

"Well, you can count me out. I promised Lindsey a little more mother-daughter time." Catherine stated.

"Yeah. Sorry, Griss, but that leaves Nick and I out, too. We have a meeting with the DA after shift and we may have to be in court. Every day they postpone the case another day." Warrick gave an apologetic smile.

"Well, Sara, am I gonna have to take Greg?"

"Only if you want to. I'm up for a little road trip. Besides, you and Greg together, alone for a few days…I don't think that would be a good idea. We're all quite fond of him and you might end up killing him."

"All right, Catherine's in charge while I'm gone. You and the boys can handle the murder-suicide." He handed Catherine the assignment slip, which she glanced at and handed to Warrick.

"Oh, yay! I get to play boss again."

"Great! Just what we need—Catherine on a power trip." Nick tried to look serious but couldn't hide his grin.

"Yeah, Griss, have we managed to piss you off in some way? Or do you like torturing us for no reason?" added Warrick.

"Laugh it up, boys. But just remember, while Grissom's gone I'm in charge. So, if we get a decomp, I won't be the one handling it."

"Okay, that's enough joking for now. You all have a job to do." Grissom said, and with that Warrick and Nick left to head off to their scene.

"Catherine, if you need any extra help you can take Greg out with you," Grissom continued. "If you do keep a very close eye on him, don't let him screw anything up."

"Got it. Now, you two get going. I can handle things here just fine."

"All right, see ya later, Catherine. Sara, meet me in my office in five minutes." Grissom disappeared down the hall to his office.

Catherine turned to Sara with a wicked smile on her face. She would love to be a fly buzzing around during Grissom and Sara's little trip. They were either going to kill each other or jump each other.

"So, Sara, you and Grissom, alone, on a road trip, together…for maybe a couple days."

"Working, Cath. We're going to a crime scene not a romantic getaway. So whatever you've got going on in that head of yours, you can just forget it. Not going to happen, ever. One of us might end up coming home in a body bag." Sara said firmly.

"Things aren't that bad between you, are they?"

"You have no idea. Don't you have a scene to get to?" Sara's tone indicated that the conversation was over.

"I guess I probably should go check on the boys." Catherine sighed and grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair.

"And I have to go see Grissom. I'll see you later, Cath." Sara grabbed her things and headed to the door. She was almost in the hall when Catherine called her name. She turned in the doorway and waited for her to speak.

"I just wanted to say good luck and have fun. Try to bring Grissom back alive and in one piece."

"Thanks, Catherine, I'll try."

"Oh, and Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Sara stood there for a second with a baffled expression and then continued her trek to Grissom's office. Catherine finished grabbing her things and headed off to her crime scene sporting that well-used smirk of hers.

**_Grissom's Office_**

****

Sara stood leaning against the doorframe watching Grissom and waiting for him to notice her presence. He sensed she was there and looked up at her and gave her a ghost of a smile. He waved her in and she sat down in a chair across from him. He seemed to not feel like talking much today, so she sat in silence and watched him flip through some papers and write a few things down. He appeared to have forgotten she was there and she couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Grissom, where are we going, exactly?"

"We are going to a little town, north of here, called Rachel." He said without looking up from his papers.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah. It's a very small town and there isn't much there from what I hear. But I've been told it's quite the tourist attraction. It seems to be a hot spot for…"

"UFO activity." She quickly interrupted.

"Yeah. And it's also the town closest to…"

"Area 51." She interrupted again.

He finally looked at her then. "How do you know all this?"

She contemplated telling him the truth for a second but decided to make him wonder. She flashed him one of her smiles—her Grissom smile, as he liked to think of it. She leaned closer to him conspiratorially and whispered. "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you."

He let out a small chuckle which surprised Sara. _Note to self: Grissom is capable of something as human as a little chuckle. _He smiled at Sara, his eyes twinkling. She smiled back, her eyes mirroring his. This was one of those special moments to be cataloged into her memory--one of those wonderful times when his walls were down and she could almost see what he tried so hard to hide, maybe even one of those moments where just for a minute they were both comfortable to be just lost in that moment.

Sara was unaware that Grissom cataloged these moments too. He soaked in every bit of that moment and burned it into his memory. For a brief time it was almost like it used to be, with a tension and a charge in the air between them. Those types of moments used to be frequent but were now few and far between. Both knew that as soon as eye contact was broken the spell would be too, so they relished the current indulgence. Grissom was the first to look away and Sara knew the walls were quickly building back up. She leaned back in her chair waiting for 'Supervisor Grissom' to kick back in.

"Do you need to go to your apartment and pack a few things?" he asked.

"If we're going to be gone for a day or two, I do."

"I have a few things to do before we leave. I'll pick you up at your place in an hour. If that's enough time for you?"

"That's plenty of time for me."

"Good. I'll see you in an hour."

"Do you know where I live?"

"Yeah. Your address is in your file."

"Okay, see you later."

Sara sullenly walked out of Grissom's office. He watched her leave and wondered what he did this time to bring her down. Things were fine just a few minutes ago but in that short amount of time he had managed to do or say the wrong thing again. In that moment he resolved that this trip would be the perfect opportunity to fix their strained relationship.

**_On the road…_**

**_Northbound 93_**

****

****

Silence had encompassed the pair from the moment Grissom picked Sara up. Neither knew what to say to the other—what to say that wouldn't start an argument or make the other uncomfortable or angry. So they rode along both deep in thought. Sara was thinking how this must seem like a living hell to Grissom. Being stuck, alone with her for a couple days couldn't be high on his list of fun things to do. She hoped that they could just be civil and friendly enough to work together without any confrontations or disagreements. _Why am I worried? We always work well together. It's the non-work related things that get to us. _She actually was a little happy to be getting out of Vegas for a couple days. It was a great place for tourists but living there was a different thing. The place was always buzzing and people were always out and about no matter what time it was. Getting out of the city and to a small quiet little town might end up being a good thing for both of them. Rachel was probably a town of easy-going people with a laid back attitude, which was a far cry from the fast paced, "gotta get ahead" temperament of Las Vegas. She tried to be optimistic about this whole situation, as she gazed out the window trying to see what scenery she could in the desert night.

Grissom, who seemed to be concentrating on driving, was actually deep in thought also. He was trying to come up with ways he could try to renew their friendship, ways he could get her to open up to him, but mostly he was trying to decide how to open up to her. He knew that if they could get back on track as friends the rest would come easily. He needed to get her to trust him again and he had no clue as to how to make that happen. He had, over the course of the last few years, destroyed any faith she had in him and he knew it. These few days away could provide him with the perfect opportunity to get their relationship back in shape. If he only knew how to begin, it would all be a lot easier. He let out a quiet sigh as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Sara heard him sigh and slowly turned to look at him. He cast a quick glance at her before turning his attention back to the road. She watched him for a moment, studying his face. He knew she was looking at him and it took all the restraint he had not to look at her. She knew he knew she was watching him and so she let a smile appear on her face. He finally looked at her for a second and let his own lips curve into a small smile. She was still watching him with that smile. Focusing back on the road he could no longer take the silence. "What?" he quietly asked.

"What?" she asked in response.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"No reason. Sometimes I just can't contain my smiles. They just sneak out without permission."

"I thought that maybe you saw something you liked."

"Yeah. Well, that too." She added with an even bigger smile.

"There's that famous Sidle Smile. It's nice to see it again. It's been quite a while." He said his smile growing even bigger.

"Yeah…I haven't had much to smile about lately." Sara solemnly added the smile slowly disappearing from her face.

"I'm sorry." Grissom spoke with a hint of guilt.

To say she was shocked by his last words would have been an understatement. "What for?"

"For you not being happy, for you not having much to smile about, for being an ass, for pushing you away…but I'm mostly sorry for not being the friend to you I should have been. You've been going through a lot this past year or so and I haven't been there for you."

Sara was astonished. "Wow! I…didn't think you noticed…or realized…those things."

"Well, I do." He said quietly.

"Wait a minute! Who are you and what have you done with Gil Grissom?" She teased, her lighter mood evident in her voice and her smile.

"Hey, I'm still me!" He remarked.

"I may have to run some tests to prove that. We're out here in the desert, Area 51 is not too far away, maybe you were abducted by aliens and they tore down all those walls you have before they returned you."

"Speaking of Area 51 and aliens, you never told me how you knew about Rachel being a UFO hot spot."

"That's highly classified information, Griss."

"Come on, Sara. Just tell me…please?"

"You know, Grissom, whining doesn't suit you. I might tell you but only when I feel you're ready to have that information."

"When will that be?"

"When you're ready."

"Okay. I guess I can wait."

They both smiled at each other and focused their attention back on the road in front of them. After a few minutes of silence Sara reached over and turned the radio on. She looked to Grissom with a silent question in her eyes and he simply nodded at her. She tuned it to a classic rock station, which she figured he would like. She leaned back in her seat and let the tunes lull her into relaxation. Twenty minutes had passed and Grissom hadn't heard a peep from Sara. He thought she had fallen asleep, so he was a bit startled when she spoke.

"Don't we have to take a left up here and head west on 375?" She asked.

"Yes, we do."

"Do you know that 375 was officially named the Extraterrestrial Highway?"

"No, I didn't. How do you know all these things?"

"It's killing you, isn't it? It's just driving you crazy wondering how I know these bits of info." She let out a small laugh.

"Have you ever been to Rachel?" He asked extremely curious.

"I'm not telling."

"If we get there and I start hearing people say 'welcome home, Sara'…"

"You won't, I promise. Besides, I thought you liked a little mystery."

"Usually I do, but my curiosity is driving me insane."

"Well, for the time being, try to keep your sanity. Hey, here's 375…time to go west."

**_The Extraterrestrial Highway_**

**_…Or Highway 375_**

Just after getting on highway 375, Grissom looked at Sara and saw her smiling again. _She's smiling again. Maybe she's the one that got abducted by aliens. She hasn't been in a mood this good in a while. _He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed her pointing to the side of the road ahead of them. He looked and saw the sign that boasted 'The Extraterrestrial Highway'. He looked shocked, his mouth slightly open. He turned to Sara and she just smirked at him. He decided then and there that this Sidle Mystery had to be solved.

"Sara, what do I have to do to get you to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"About aliens, Area 51, UFO hot spots…The Extraterrestrial Highway."

"What are you willing to do?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to…forget I ever said any of that stuff."

"Not gonna happen. Come on, I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

"Almost anything."

"This could be interesting." She tapped her right index finger on her lips, trying to think of an idea.

"Nothing embarrassing."

"All right, I've got it."

"What?"

"You have to…" She paused making him suffer a little.

"I have to, what?" He asked overly impatient.

"You have to………take me out to dinner when we get back to Vegas."

"That's all, just dinner?"

"Yes."

"No, 'let's see what happens'?" He asked a little disappointed.

"Oh, I know what will happen."

"So do I. So, are you gonna tell me or keep me waiting?"

"I'll tell you over dinner when we get back to Vegas."

"That's just not fair. This is gonna bug me until we get back."

"Well, since you're the 'bug guy' you shouldn't mind being bugged."

He didn't have a response. He was too busy devising a plan to get her to talk before they got back to Las Vegas. They rode the rest of the way to Rachel in silence.

**_Rachel, Nevada_**

**_Population Humans 98, Aliens??_**

****

****

It was the middle of the night when they arrived in Rachel. Grissom was wondering if he had imagined seeing the town sign. There seemed to be nothing here but a few run down mobile homes. There certainly were no signs of life anywhere. He continued down the road, as he was directed during his earlier phone conversation with the local authorities, to meet up with the sheriff. He was beginning to think he had made a wrong turn when he finally spotted the sheriff's car. He slowly pulled up behind it and turned off the engine. He looked at Sara who in turn looked at him. She flashed one of her smiles at him and he couldn't help but smile back. The closer they had gotten to Rachel the more anxious she had become. She seemed overly excited to be here. He had a quick mental image of her bouncing out of the truck and skipping off to the crime scene. He shook the thought from his head as he saw the sheriff get out of his car and head towards his window.

The sheriff, a tall, thin man probably in his fifties, took his time walking the small distance between vehicles. Grissom rolled down his window as he approached and waited, an eternity it seemed, for him to get there. He finally made it to their truck and looked in at Grissom first, then Sara. His gaze seemed to linger on Sara, which made Grissom a little angry.

"You Gil Grissom?" he asked. Glancing at Grissom a second before looking at Sara again.

Annoyed, Grissom responded, "Yes. And you must be Sheriff Maxwell."

"Last time I checked. And who might this pretty lady be?"

"This pretty lady is one of my CSIs. Sara Sidle meet Sheriff Maxwell."

"Sara Sidle, huh?"

"Last time I checked." She added dryly.

"She's a feisty one." The sheriff commented.

"You have no idea." Grissom quietly added.

"It's good you brought an extra pair of hands. For a second there I thought you had brought your wife along with you. Is it Miss or Mrs. Sidle?"

Before Sara had a chance to respond Grissom replied to his question. "It's Miss Sidle, but I wouldn't get any ideas, Sheriff, she's spoken for."

"I guess all the beautiful ones _are_ taken." The sheriff added a little disappointed. He recovered quickly though. "Well, then…I guess I should take you to the scene. Follow me." He slowly strolled back to his car.

After the sheriff walked away Grissom rolled up his window and started the truck. He turned to look at Sara, who was staring at him her mouth open slightly, a look of shock and amusement on her face, a smile threatening to appear. "What?" he asked a little perplexed.

"I'm spoken for?"

"Did you really want that guy ogling you the whole time we're here?"

"Oh, I see. You're trying to protect me from the big, bad sheriff who thought I was pretty."

"Did you not see how he was leering at you?"

"It wasn't bothering me. Believe it or not I've had guys look at me like that before."

"Oh, I believe it."

"In fact, I've seen you look at me like that before."

"Not like that. He was practically undressing you with his eyes."

"And you've never undressed me in that mysterious mind of yours?"

"Okay, we're slipping into this dangerous territory of information that you don't need to know."

"All right, I'll drop it for now, but only because the sheriff is pulling onto the road and if you don't get in gear and follow him, we might lose him."

They followed the sheriff down the highway a little more and trailed him down the dirt road he turned on. The sheriff drove extremely slowly, which was probably a good thing considering how much dust was being kicked up. At times it they couldn't see the taillights in front of them because of it. After what seemed like an hour-long drive, the sheriff finally pulled to a stop. Grissom pulled up behind him and parked. After turning off the engine he and Sara got out of the truck and grabbed their kits. They both walked around to the front of the vehicle and stood waiting for the sheriff to get out of his car.

After more than five minutes of waiting, an impatient Sara Sidle started pacing back and forth in front of the Tahoe. She would stop, kick a rock out of her path and continue her laps. Her actions, somewhat amusing, were making Grissom impatient also.

"Sara, can you please stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."

"Sorry, Grissom. I'm all for being laid back, but this is just…"

"Infuriating?"

"Yeah, a little."

"I think he's on the radio. I'm sure he'll be with us soon."

"Well, he can take his time, those bodies aren't getting any deader and they're not going anywhere."

Sheriff Maxwell chose that moment to finally exit his car. He sauntered over to the pair and cast another lingering glance at Sara. She turned to Grissom trying to bite back a smile, while he let out a frustrated sigh. Sheriff Maxwell looked back and forth between the pair noticing they seemed to have some form of silent communication. _City folks they just keep getting stranger and stranger. _

Every silent, inactive second that ticked by only served to add to Grissom's aggravation. "Care to show us to the scene, Sheriff?"

"Uh…yeah. Right this way. It's not too long of a walk."

There was no path to follow, so they slowly made their way over the rough desert terrain. Rocks and cactus scattered around were only made visible by the probing beams of their flashlights. Grissom and Sara were both wondering what 'not too long of a walk' was for this guy. Sara was looking off to her left when the sheriff stopped walking which caused her to bump into him. "Sorry." She muttered. "No big deal," he responded with a small grin. She went to take a step back but tripped over a rock. She fell backwards but Grissom was there just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. He held on to her for a second before helping her back on her feet.

"Sara, you should be more careful. You're always falling for me." Grissom tried to look serious but failed miserably when he couldn't contain his smile.

"Yeah, but you usually don't catch me." She added.

Sheriff Maxwell, being the astute observer he was, saw the little spark that passed between the pair. He suddenly felt like a third wheel and was greatly appreciative that he had somewhere else to be. "The first body is buried right here." He shined his flashlight a few feet in front of him. "The second is about fifteen feet over that way." He turned his flashlight to his left. "Will you two be all right out here by yourself? I got a call I need to go check on."

"We should be fine." Grissom said.

"All right then. If you need anything just give me a call." And with that the sheriff started off back to his car.

"Hey, Sheriff Maxwell?"

He stopped walking and turned around. "Yes, Mr. Grissom?"

"Is there a motel in the area?"

"Back in Rachel there's the Little A'Le'Inn. They should have a couple rooms available but they don't open 'til 8 in the morning."

"Thanks, Sheriff."

"You're welcome." He turned and walked away, slowly disappearing into the darkness.

Grissom and Sara watched him walk away. When Grissom figured the sheriff was far enough away so that he couldn't hear them he turned to Sara and asked, "The Little A'Le'Inn?"

"Cool name, huh?"

"If they have flying saucer shaped beds, or alien head bathtubs we're not staying there."

"Where's your sense of fun and adventure, Griss?"

"I left it in Vegas with my sanity."

Sara hid her smile and got into investigator mode. "So, what's the game plan here, boss?"

He shined his flashlight all around them taking in their surroundings. He walked up to where the first body was with Sara following closely behind. "This has got to be one of the worst scenes ever. They didn't tape off the area. There was no one out here keeping an eye on things. Half the town was probably out here looking around." He continued searching the area with his light. "Well, we've got a couple more hours 'til the sun comes up. We should just gather what evidence we can see with our flashlights. When we finally get some light we can start working on the bodies."

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Sara said, beginning to meticulously search the ground.

**_Daybreak_**

**_Middle of nowhere or just outside of Rachel, NV._**

****

They had searched the area around the bodies over and over again. Neither found much evidence. As Grissom had suspected there were about a hundred different sets of shoeprints, which all led off into different directions. There were no tire tracks, no fibers, no blood—no trace evidence whatsoever. They had expanded their search further away from the bodies but still came up with nothing more than some old aluminum beer cans that had probably been there for years. With the sun on the rise Grissom figured it would be a good idea to get started unearthing the bodies. Soon, the unrelenting desert heat would be bearing down on them and the sooner they could finish this the better.

He walked over to Sara who was crouching down next to where the first body was buried. In the early morning light he could see the fingers of a right hand poking up through the sand. Sara seemed to be deep in thought, studying what was before her. He crouched down next to her to get a closer look. She didn't acknowledge his presence and so he took that moment to look at her. He knew that look on her face well. She was thinking, her brows furrowed in deep concentration, trying to put the puzzle together.

"Care to share your thoughts?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"I can hear the gears in your brain working. So, spill it, Sidle. What are you thinking?"

"Oh. I, uh…was just thinking how odd this is. We've found almost no evidence. There should be something, right? But we have nothing, really. And take a close look at this hand, the skin is this weird gray color and have you noticed there is no smell. These bodies have been out here a couple days, at least. Where's the stench of death? Where are the bugs?"

"I was actually thinking the same thing."

"Well, you know, great minds think alike."

"They do."

"And you and I have the greatest minds of all." She added.

"That's a little narcissistic, don't you think?"

"You know we're both great."

"Well, I am…you're still learning."

"Who's narcissistic?" she asked with a laugh.

He allowed himself to join her in a laugh. He went, quickly, back to business, though. "You get started digging this one up and I'll get started on the other. If you need a hand just yell."

"Sure thing, boss."

They both quietly set about their tasks, unknowingly mirroring each other as they worked. Slowly and meticulously they uncovered the bodies. From a distance it would seem that this was all a well-choreographed exercise. The symmetry in their actions was amazing. Both bore shocked expressions as they carefully swept the sand away from the face of the separate bodies.

"Uh…Grissom, you gotta come see this." Sara yelled.

"Ditto." He responded. They both stood and walked towards each other with an astonished look across their faces.

"What do you have?" he asked.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"All right, come on."

She followed him over to where he was working and stopped dead in her tracks when the body came into view. She stared at it for a second and then looked towards her work area and then looked back at the body. She then looked up at Grissom, her mouth hanging open not knowing what to say.

"I take it you found the same thing?" He asked.

"Uh…yeah…they can't be what they look like, can they?"

"I don't know…I guess they could be costumes." He tried to rationalize.

"Those are some damn good costumes, Griss. Who found the bodies?"

"Sheriff Maxwell said some local teens came out here to camp for a few nights to watch the sky and found the hand sticking up out of the sand when they went to pitch their tent."

"Well…what…we…" she sputtered trying to form a thought.

"Maybe we should finish uncovering the bodies, before we jump to any conclusions. For all we know those are just very well made costumes."

"You're right. We need to get moving though. It's starting to get hot."

Grissom nodded in agreement. He followed Sara over to her body and looked at it for a second. She grabbed the bottle of water she had brought with her and took a long gulp and then offered it to Grissom. He hesitated a second before accepting it. "I don't have cooties," she said. He smiled before taking a big sip of the water. He handed it back to her with a simple, "Thank you." Taking a deep breath and releasing it he said, "All right, let's get back to work."

They both returned to their painstaking tasks of uncovering the bodies. The time passed quickly and soon both bodies were clear of all sand and debris. Sara carefully studied the body—looking at it as closely as she could, poking it here and there. _That's real scientific of you, Sidle. You don't know what it is so you decide to poke it. _Her thoughts quickly left her mind when she noticed a shadow looming over her. She turned her head to see Grissom standing directly behind her leaning over her shoulder. She got up from her crouching position and stood beside him. They both looked at the body and sighed.

"What do you think, Grissom?"

"I don't know what to think. All I know is that my guy is not wearing a costume. I couldn't find a zipper, button or even a seam anywhere on him."

"Same here. How do you know it's a guy, Griss?"

"I don't." he answered honestly.

"They sure don't have any plumbing, either way." Sara noted.

"So, what does that make them?"

"Well, I know what I would call them. But what would a serious scientist like yourself have to say?" She asked with a smile.

"We'll have to take them back to Vegas, have Doc Robbins look at them and run a few tests…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, but seriously what would you call them? They're obviously not human, so what are they?"

"They kinda look like…" he paused not wanting to say it.

"They kinda look like, what?" she prodded.

"Aliens. Are you happy? They look like aliens."

"I didn't know you believed in that kind of thing, Griss"

"I don't. I'm not saying that's what they are, I'm just saying that's what they look like."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We have to get the coroner out here to pick up the bodies."

"I know that. Shouldn't we inform the government or something? I mean, if these really are aliens, we should tell somebody."

"Who do we tell?" he asked.

"I don't know, maybe the FBI."

"The FBI? I hate those guys. God, I hope we don't have to call them."

"Maybe we can let Sheriff Maxwell deal with them. It's his jurisdiction, we're here as a courtesy."

"Maybe…"

"Hey, Grissom, it looks like we're gonna have some company."

Sara pointed off in the distance at the cloud of dust approaching them. They both stood and watched as it got closer and closer.

"Maybe that's the sheriff coming back to check on us." Grissom said.

"That's not the sheriff's car." Sara noted as the vehicle parked behind their Tahoe.

A tall, somewhat attractive man, dressed in a suit, got out of the car and started walking toward them. A short woman with red hair, dressed in a trendy but business-like pantsuit soon followed him. Grissom and Sara exchanged confused glances and started walking toward the pair. They stopped within a few feet of each other and both pairs studied the other. Grissom turned to look at Sara, who just shrugged, then focused his attention back on the duo on front of him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Who are you?" the tall mysterious man asked.

"Who are you?" Grissom countered.

"I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, this is Special Agent Dana Scully. We're with the FBI." He informed. They both flashed their badges at Grissom and Sara.

"Now that you know who we are, who are you?" Scully asked.

Grissom shared another glance with Sara before responding. "I'm Gil Grissom, this is Sara Sidle. We're with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Now that we all know each other, what are you doing here?"

"We're out here investigating several UFO sightings in the area." Mulder answered.

"The FBI investigates UFO sightings?" Grissom asked, incredulously.

"Yes. We're with a special unit. We investigate paranormal phenomena, things like that." Mulder responded.

"Would you mind showing me your badge again?" Grissom asked.

Mulder laughed. "I know it may sound incredible to you that the FBI would investigate such things, but if you only knew the things I know…well, let's just say you'd wish there were more people like me out there who cared about such things."

"Okay, that's all fine and dandy. But why are you out here at our crime scene?" Sara asked.

"We were informed that there were two bodies found out here." Scully answered.

"Yeah. I'm sure the FBI has better things to do than help crime scene investigators dig up bodies." An irritated Grissom said.

"I guess that depends on whether the bodies you dug up were human or not." Mulder replied.

Grissom and Sara shared a look, which didn't go unnoticed by the agents. Sara lightly grabbed Grissom's arm and leaned in to whisper, "Grissom, can I talk to you for a second?"

Grissom nodded. "Will you excuse us for a second? We need to have a word in private." Mulder and Scully nodded their assent.

Sara dragged Grissom far enough away so that they wouldn't be heard but they spoke no louder than a whisper anyway. "Grissom, why don't we just tell them about what we found and let them deal with it?"

"This is still our scene, Sara."

"Yeah, but we were just trying to figure out who to tell about this and here they are. They investigate this kind of thing."

"I'm not convinced that they're real FBI agents. Why would the FBI bother investigating such things when there are other more dangerous threats in this world?"

"I don't know, but their badges are real. It's their job let them do it."

"I…don't know…I just have a bad feeling about all of this. Everything since we got here has just seemed…strange."

Mulder and Scully watched the pair who appeared to be having a disagreement. They couldn't hear what was being said but could only imagine it had something to do with them. Mulder turned to Scully, turning his back on the CSIs. "What do you think, Scully? Do they seem like they're trying to keep us from seeing those bodies?"

"Mulder, it's their scene. We just showed up here for no real reason. If I were them I wouldn't show us the bodies. We have no cause to be here, other than that cryptic phone call you received. What should we tell them? We got a phone call from an unknown informant telling us there were dead alien bodies in the desert?"

"Scully, we are close to something here. I can feel it. They found alien bodies; they just don't understand the importance. We could finally have real proof."

"And what if the bodies are human?"

"They're not."

Mulder turned back around as Grissom and Sara returned. Sara looked like she was enjoying this whole experience while Grissom looked a little apprehensive. They approached the agents and shared a quick glance before Grissom spoke. "You are real FBI agents?"

"We've been asked that a million times, sir. The answer is yes." Scully responded with a smile.

"Actually, it's a million and one times, Scully." Mulder added.

"Okay. Sara and I discussed this and we decided it probably would be a good idea to show you what we found."

"So, if you'll follow us, we'll show you the bodies." Sara chimed in.

They lead the agents to the scene. Mulder's smile growing bigger the closer they got. Scully walked shaking her head at his evident excitement. "Mulder, if those are alien bodies, please try not to pee your pants."

"I can't make any promises, Scully."

As they got to scene Grissom went in one direction and Sara went in the other. The agents looked at each other and shrugged. Scully followed Grissom and Mulder trailed Sara. When the body came into view Mulder's mouth fell open. He knelt down and touched its chin. He moved its head to where the face was looking his direction…the big, lifeless black eyes staring into his own.

"Oh, my God." Was all that came out of Scully's mouth as she knelt down next to the other body. She reached out and touched its skin, quickly pulling back in shock. She recovered in an instant and continued examining the body. Grissom knelt down next to her and watched her inspect the corpse. He turned to look at Sara and was hit with a little pang of jealousy.

Sara and Mulder were kneeling side-by-side, shoulders touching and seemed to be talking. She and Mulder turned their heads to look at each other and their faces were mere inches apart. Mulder said something that made Sara smile and Grissom's jealousy kicked up another notch. _Why is she smiling at him? I knew he was bad news. She's giving him my smile. Hey, Sara, that's your 'Grissom Smile'; it's only supposed to be directed at me. _He couldn't take it any longer. He stood and walked over to Sara and Mulder. Sara noticed him approaching and stood to meet him with a smile.

"You two seem to be getting along well." Grissom pointed out.

"Hey, Griss. Agent Mulder here, was just telling me about a case of spontaneous human combustion he investigated."

"Spontaneous human combustion? That's science fiction."

"Actually, it's not. There are a couple well documented cases." Mulder said.

"Really? As a scientist I find that hard to believe."

"Ask Agent Scully. She's a scientist. She was actually assigned to work with me to provide a scientific approach to my cases. She was a skeptic when we were first partnered but I think she's starting to come around."

"She's a scientist?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah…actually she's a medical doctor."

"My ears are burning. What are you saying about me, Mulder?" Scully asked as she approached.

"I was just telling Grissom and Sidle here that you are a skeptical scientist, doctor, FBI agent, superwoman."

"Oh, Mulder, you do have a way with words." Scully joked.

"So, what do you think, Scully? Do we finally have proof?" Mulder asked.

"I won't know anything until I can thoroughly examine the bodies. I'll need to run some tests and do autopsies on them."

"Where are the closest lab facilities?" Mulder asked Grissom.

"Well, aside from the ones they probably have at the top secret Area 51, the nearest is probably Las Vegas."

"And it just so happens that the two of you work at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. We could use your help."

"Why do you need our help?" Grissom asked.

"We need to get these bodies back to your lab and let Scully do her slicin' and dicin' magic before someone else finds out about this."

"Who's gonna find out?" Sara asked.

"There are men working within our government who are trying hide the truth about extraterrestrial life on this planet. It's a conspiracy, the key figures…"

"Don't mind him, he'll go on forever." Scully interrupted.

"Scully, I was trying to…"

"Mulder, you were only making yourself sound crazy, which would make it less likely for them to help us."

"Don't worry about it. We'll help you." Sara said.

"Sara…can I have a word with you?" Grissom tried to pull Sara to the side, but she wouldn't budge.

"Grissom, they need our help and we can help them. So, why not help? As a scientist I would think that you'd be more interested in finding out the truth about what we've found. Do you have any idea what this means? There is no greater scientific discovery—the proof of alien life on earth. Just think about that for a second."

"Mulder, we finally found your soul mate." Scully joked.

"I know, I'm getting a little turned on right now." He responded with a grin.

Grissom glared at Scully first, then Mulder before turning his attention back to Sara. He let out a heavy sigh and simply said, "Fine."

"Cool!" was all that Sara said.

"We'll have to call the coroner and get him out here to transport the bodies." Grissom informed.

"No. No one else can know about this. We'll have to transport the bodies ourselves." Mulder said.

"Transport them in what?" Grissom asked.

"Your truck." Mulder simply said.

"I'm not transporting dead bodies in my truck. Not gonna happen."

"Fine, we'll put them in our car then." Mulder said not deterred from his mission.

"You want to drive all the way back to Vegas with dead bodies in the car? Where are we going to put them? In the back seat? Mulder, think this through for a second."

"Scully, what else can we do?"

"I saw a couple box trucks back in Rachel. Maybe we can rent one from the whoever owns them and use it to transport the bodies."

"All right, go back to Rachel and see if you can make that happen. I'll stay with the bodies."

"Sara and I have been going nonstop for over twelve hours. We're going back in to town. We need to rest and at least get something to eat. We'll give you a lift, Agent Scully, that way he won't be left out here without transportation." Grissom said.

"Sound good to me." Scully said. "Mulder, are you sure you'll be okay out here alone?"

"I'll be fine, Scully."

"We'll leave you all the water we have. It's only going to get hotter and you'll need to keep hydrated." Sara said. She walked off to the Tahoe to get the water.

Grissom watched her walk away and turned back to Mulder, who seemed to be enjoying the view of the retreating Sara Sidle, the jealously and annoyance with the younger man growing with every minute that passed by. Mulder seemed way too happy that Sara had dropped her keys and had to bend over to pick them up. Grissom cleared his throat, which caused Mulder to look away from Sara. Scully, who was nonchalantly watching the two men, bit back a smile at the look of guilt on Mulder's face.

Sara returned carrying several bottles of water. She handed them to Mulder and he tossed them into the front seat of the car. She walked over to Grissom and flashed him her 'Grissom Smile'. "You ready to go?" she asked.

Grissom couldn't help but smile back. "You have no idea."

"Agent Scully, you ready?" Sara asked.

"Yes. Just give me a minute."

Grissom and Sara walked to the Tahoe and got in. Grissom didn't seem to be too happy about this whole situation. He sat in the driver's seat hands gripping the steering wheel. He looked very…uneasy. Sara, on the other hand, couldn't hide her excitement. She was full of energy and was just itching to get moving. She looked at Grissom a minute before looking out her window at the agents. It appeared to Sara, that Agent Scully was having a hard time saying goodbye to Agent Mulder.

"Mulder, are you sure you're going to be all right out here?"

"Scully, I'll be fine. I'm an FBI agent and I have a gun. I can take care of myself."

"You can take care of yourself? Since when?"

"That was a good one, Scully. You should do stand up."

"Mulder…"

"Scully, you should go, they're waiting for you. If I get into any trouble I'll call. I mean, how much trouble can I get into in the middle of the desert?"

"Famous last words of a fool? All right, I'm going. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Be careful, Scully."

"You, too."

"Always."

Scully hesitantly left Mulder and joined the CSIs in the Tahoe. She gave Mulder one last look as they started their drive down the long, dusty dirt road. He waved a goodbye as Scully watched him become smaller and smaller. She only turned back around when she could no longer see him. She had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen. It was a silly thing but she had learned long ago, with thanks to Mulder, to trust her gut. She hoped they could quickly make it back to Rachel and find someone to let them use a truck. The sooner she could get back to Mulder the better she would feel.

**_Rachel, Nevada_**

****

They quickly arrived back in Rachel and drove straight to The Little A'Le'Inn. Scully left the pair and went in search of a truck to transport the bodies in. Grissom and Sara entered the restaurant and seated themselves at a table in the corner. They sat at the table, silently taking in their surroundings. The walls were covered with UFO pictures and alien memorabilia. Grissom looked at Sara, who seemed to be totally fascinated by the décor. She sensed that he was looking at her, so she turned her head to look back. He seemed amused by her fascination, his eyes smiling into hers. Their gaze held and they were absorbed in another one of those cataloging moments again. Of course, the waitress chose to finally acknowledge them at that moment and the spell was broken as she leaned her hip on the table and asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"

Grissom quickly averted his attention to the waitress and answered, "I'll have coffee, please."

"And for you, Miss?" she asked.

"Make that two." Sara answered.

The waitress left and quickly brought back two cups of coffee. She placed the coffee on the table along with two menus. "I'll be back in a minute to take your orders." She winked at Grissom and went to attend to the other customers.

Sara, who witnessed the wink, glared at the waitress as she walked off. She then looked at Grissom and saw that he was trying very hard not to smile, which only made her glare at him.

"What?" he asked, not being able to take the fierce look any longer.

"Nothing." She said.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were jealous."

"You would know about jealousy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, please. You've given the evil eye to every guy we've met since we've been here. If looks could kill Sheriff Maxwell and Agent Mulder would be dead."

"It was unprofessional of them to look at you the way they did. You would think that a sheriff and an FBI agent would show a little more respect."

"Whatever. I didn't feel disrespected in any way. You're just speaking nonsense."

"You seem to bring out the nonsense in me."

"So, you're jealous because the sheriff thought I was pretty and Agent Mulder was paying attention to me. So, you figure, turn about being fair play, that you should flirt with our waitress?"

"I wasn't flirting with her. She was the one who winked at me. I can't help it if she finds me…"

"Irresistible?" Sara interrupted with a laugh.

"Whatever you say. You know, _you_ used to find me irresistible."

"Did I?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, yeah, big time. You know, you're quite irresis…"

"You ready to order?" The waitress interrupted.

"It figures." Sara said. Under her breath she added, "Give him an easy out."

The waitress looked at the pair a little confused as to what she had just interrupted. "Do you need another minute?" she asked.

"No, thank you. I'll just have an order of fries and a Coke." Sara said.

"And for you, Sir?"

"I'll have an Alienburger and an ice tea, please." Grissom said.

"Coming right up." She said and disappeared into the kitchen.

"So, you were saying…?" Sara asked.

"It wasn't important. Forget it." Grissom said studying his spoon.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that." Sara somberly said.

Grissom realized he had done it again. She had been in a good mood and he had brought her down. He seemed to be good at that. He felt guilty for all the times he had been responsible for crushing her hopes, darkening her moods. It was the past and he couldn't do anything about it now, except maybe apologize, but would she even believe that he was being sincere. His apologies for the past could wait. He decided it was a better idea to change the present and work on the future.

He broke the silence that lingered between them. "Before the waitress interrupted us, I was going to say that you're quite irresistible yourself."

That little revelation improved her mood a little and she let a small smile form on her lips. Grissom was pleased to see that such a little admission from him could change her mood so quickly. It prompted him to reveal a little more. "And on top of being irresistible, you're way too distracting."

"I distract you?" she asked unsure whether to believe him or not.

"Yes. It's a big problem at work because sometimes I have a hard time focusing on what I'm supposed to be doing. You walk into a room and my mind goes blank and I can't think of what to say or do. The closer you get to me the dumber I feel. Sometimes I have to look at my ID to remember my name."

"Well, you know…the first step is to admit you have a problem." She said with a smile.

"What's the second step?" he inquired.

"The second step? I don't know…maybe doing something about your problem."

"And what should I do about this problem?"

"Well, I know what I would do about it, but this has to be your decision. I'm willing to be there for you if you need any help."

He smiled at her and reached across the table, taking her hand in his. She was a bit shocked at first, bet decided to savor the moment. She knew it wouldn't last long and was not surprised when the waitress showed up with their orders. Grissom slowly let go of her hand and let the waitress set their plates down. Sara decided at that moment that the waitress would be added to the large number of people on her shit list. They ate their meal in silence, occasionally glancing at the other. As Sara finished her meal and pushed her plate away she noticed Agent Scully walk in the door. Scully saw the pair and joined them after Sara had waved her over. She asked the waitress for a glass of water before taking a seat.

"Did you manage to find a truck?" Grissom asked.

"Actually, I did. I was talking to this old farmer in the parking lot and he said he had a truck. I offered to rent it from him, but he said I could have it for two hundred dollars. So, I bought it."

"Two hundred dollars for a truck? That's cheap. Does it run?" Sara asked.

"Yeah, it runs. It's an old truck but it runs pretty good. I wrote him a check and he took me out to his place to pick it up. He was a real nice guy. He offered to make me lunch while I was there."

"Small town people. Gotta love 'em." Sara said.

"Yeah. I just came in here to get something to drink before I head back out to get Mulder." Scully said as the waitress appeared with her water.

"Do you need us to go back out there with you?" Grissom asked to Sara's surprise.

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You didn't ask, I offered. We're more than willing to help you." He said.

"Thank you. I appreciate that. I have to admit that it's kind of strange having someone willing to help us." Off of Grissom and Sara's confused looks, she added, "Agent Mulder and I are kinda the black sheep of the FBI. We don't get much support on our cases and they're always looking for a reason to shut us down."

Sara leaned in and whispered, "So, having proof of alien life would really validate your work. I'm assuming with proof like that you would finally get support. How could they shut you down?"

"Yeah, well…we've had proof in our hands before. Somehow, we always wind up going home empty handed. It gets frustrating at times. We've seen incredible things, we know the truth but we have no way to prove any of it. All of this must sound insane to you."

"Not really. I actually find it very interesting." Sara said. "It would be a major bonus to aid in the proving of the existence of extraterrestrial life."

"Most people aren't so open minded." Scully said.

"And I find it odd that the Super Scientific Sara Sidle believes in such things." Grissom quipped.

"Super Scientific Sara Sidle? Say that five times real fast." Sara teased.

"If we're going to do this, we should get started. Agent Mulder's probably had a heat stroke in our absence." Grissom said as he threw some money out on the table to cover their bill.

"Yeah. I was worried about leaving him out there all alone. I hope he's okay." Scully said.

"All right, let's rock and roll!" Sara enthusiastically said.

They stepped out of the restaurant and into the unrelenting desert heat. It was getting to be late afternoon and the hottest part of the day. They made sure Scully was able to start the old truck before they got in their own vehicle. Grissom started the engine and quickly turned on the AC. He let out a sigh as the cool air hit his hot skin. He waited until Scully pulled out onto the road and followed her. Both Sara and Grissom were enjoying the cool air steadily blowing on them. But Sara suddenly felt guilty. "We're cheating, Griss." She said.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I just feel guilty. Agent Mulder is out in the middle of the desert probably having a heat stroke waiting for us. Poor Agent Scully is driving that big ol' piece of junk with no air conditioning. And here we are being wussies with the AC on."

"Just because they have to suffer doesn't mean we have to. If the roles were reversed I'm sure they'd be doing the exact same thing." He tried to reason with her.

"Fine you big wuss. You can't handle a little heat."

"A little heat? It's at least 100 degrees out."

"Whatever."

"If you'd rather suffer in the heat, I'm sure Agent Scully would be happy to have some company in that big ol' piece of junk."

"No, it's okay. I'd much rather stay here and torture you."

"You do it so well."

Sara had no reply. She just smirked at him and focused on the road ahead of them. The rest of the drive was made in silence.

**_Back out in the middle of nowhere…_**

****

Mulder sat in the shade that the car provided. It wasn't much of an escape from the heat but it helped a little. Throughout the course of the afternoon he had started to shed clothes. His tie was the first to go, his shirt soon followed. He managed to keep his pants and undershirt on and had made better use of his tie—tying it around his head. _I look like Rambo, _he thought. The heat was taking its toll on him and he was feeling quite exhausted. He leaned his head back against the car door and closed his eyes. He was starting to drift off when he heard the sound of a vehicle coming down the road. He quickly got to his feet and let out a sigh of relief to see Scully and the two CSIs finally return.

Scully quickly got out of the truck and walked up to Mulder. "Mulder, how are you doing?"

"I've never been better, Scully. I've just been thinking how this would be a great vacation spot." He replied with a smile.

Scully took that moment to finally notice Mulder's attire. She tried not to laugh but failed miserably. He shot her a disapproving look, which only made it all the more comical to her. "You should see yourself, Mulder." She said as her laughter subsided.

"Laugh it up, Scully. I'd like to see what you'd look like after spending a few hours out here alone."

Grissom and Sara approached the pair and tried to hide their amusement with the way Mulder was dressed. It took all the restraint Sara had to not laugh. Grissom was fairing a little better, but not by much. He wasn't laughing but he couldn't contain his smile. "So, are you ready to get these bodies out of here…Rambo?" he asked. With that question, Sara couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Mulder, who could always find the humor in any situation, joined her in laughter. And after a second Grissom and Scully couldn't help but join in. For a few minutes four brilliant people succumbed to laughter in the middle of the Nevada desert.

Mulder was the first to get back to business. "We should really get moving. We need to get these bodies out of here and to a safe location."

"All right, how do you want to do this?" Sara asked.

"Scully and I will grab one, you two grab the other. We'll throw 'em in the truck and hit the road." He replied.

"Let's do it, then." Sara said, with a little too much enthusiasm for Grissom's liking.

The four of them quickly loaded the bodies in the truck. Mulder and Scully hopped in the truck, leaving their rental car behind, and started back to town. Grissom and Sara shared a smile before getting in the Tahoe and following the agents. Grissom turned the AC on full blast, which caused Sara to roll her eyes. "Like I said before, just because they have to suffer in this heat doesn't mean we have to." He said.

"And like I said before, you're a bug wuss." She replied.

He didn't respond. His attention was focused on driving. That same feeling that something wasn't right was gnawing at him. He couldn't put a finger on it but he just knew that this was all very strange. He had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen. He just hoped that that something bad didn't happen to him or Sara.

**_Rachel, Nevada…again_**

****

It was 5:30 p.m. when they arrived back in Rachel. Mulder pulled the truck into the parking lot of The Little A'Le'Inn and parked. He and Scully got out and waited for the Las Vegas CSIs. Grissom parked the Tahoe next to the agents' truck and he and Sara got out to meet the pair. The four of them stood between the two vehicles somewhat hidden from prying eyes.

"Now what?" Grissom asked.

"We just stopped to work out a game plan with you." Mulder said.

"So, what's the plan?" Sara queried.

"Well, we need to get gas first thing. This truck is a gas hog and we're just about on empty."

"We're pretty low on fuel too." Grissom put in.

"I say we fill up and then go like hell to Vegas." Sara added.

"I'm pretty sure there's a gas station just down the road. I think it's the only one for a hundred miles." Scully informed.

"An oasis." Mulder said. "We should get going then."

They piled back in their vehicles and made their way to the gas station. Mulder felt a sense of dread as he pulled up to the pump. There was no one around and no lights were on inside. He hopped out of the truck and walked up to the door. Several colorful words flew from his mouth and he read the closed sign that was hanging in the window. He kicked the trashcan that was near the entrance and walked back over to the truck. He climbed in and rested his head on the steering wheel. "Damn, son of a bitch!"

"Mulder, what's wrong?" Scully asked worriedly.

"It's closed. It's open from 8 to 5. Don't you just love small towns?" he huffed.

Grissom and Sara had watched Mulder's display of frustration and had quickly deduced that the gas station must be closed. Grissom pulled the Tahoe up beside the agents' truck. Sara rolled down her window and said, "I'm sorry, Agent Mulder."

"It's not your fault." He said. "It looks like we're gonna have to spend the night here. This place opens back up at 8 a.m."

"Yeah. With our luck they won't have any rooms available at the motel." Sara said with a laugh.

"Don't talk like that. You're gonna jinx us." Mulder joked.

"I guess we'll see you back at the Inn." Grissom said.

"Yeah. We'll be right behind you." Scully replied.

They headed back to The Little A'Le'Inn, disappointed with the turn of events.


	2. 2

Thanks for the reviews

And a huge thanks to Lady Kes

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**_The Little A'Le'Inn _**

The four disappointed and exhausted people entered the restaurant and sat at the most secluded table they could find. Their moods were as varied as the people in the booth. Mulder's mood picked up a little bit when he started to notice the alien décor, while Scully, who had seen the decorations earlier, seemed to be fascinated by Mulder. Grissom looked like he was about to collapse, having been up for about 24 hours at this point. Sara, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to pull a double, the lack of rest taking apparently no toll on her. She sat fidgeting with the silverware, one leg bouncing under the table.

The winking waitress appeared at their table and gave Grissom and Mulder the once over. Sara noticed her and let out a disgusted groan. Grissom tried to hide his amusement, while Mulder returned the once over. Scully rolled her eyes.

"Long day, huh? You four look like you could really use a drink. So, what can I get ya?" The waitress asked winking at the men.

Sara quickly spoke up. "I'll have a beer. Bud Light if you have it."

"Make that two." Grissom added.

Mulder looked at Scully with an unspoken question. She nodded. "Make that four beers," he said.

The waitress left and quickly returned with the beers. Sara grabbed her bottle and took a big long gulp, while the other three simply sipped on theirs. Sara soon finished her beer and had waved the waitress down for another. Grissom shot a worried glance at her but said nothing. Noticing his look, she drank the second beer slowly. The waitress quietly returned to their table to leave a few menus and went to attend to the other customers. Mulder and Scully perused the menu, trying to decide what to order. There wasn't much of a choice—Alienburger or Alienburger with cheese, both served with a side fries. There were a few other items on the menu but none seemed too appetizing. Grissom and Sara, who already knew what was on the menu, took the time to people watch.

Grissom seemed to be watching one person in particular—a good-looking man in his thirties, who seemed to be totally fascinated with Sara. Sara hadn't noticed the man looking at her because she was giving dirty looks at an older woman who seemed to be eying Grissom. Neither seemed to notice the other patrons, both male and female, who appeared to be checking out Mulder and Scully. No matter who they were looking at, all the other patrons of the restaurant seemed to be focused on the four weary travelers. You could probably chalk it up to the fact that they were four strangers in a small town where everyone knew each other. Or it could be due to the fact that they were four attractive people. Whatever the case was…all eyes were on them.

The waitress returned to take their orders and scurried back to work. It was after she left the table that Grissom realized that they seemed to be the center of attention, which made him quite uncomfortable. Sara sensed his discomfort and gave him a pat on the back. "What's the matter, Griss? Is the ogling and leering bothering you? I think that woman in the corner is undressing you with her eyes."

"Really? Where?" he asked looking all around.

"My mistake. It wasn't the woman in the corner."

"Maybe it was the woman sitting next to me."

"In your dreams."

"Always in my dreams…never in my reality," he said wistfully.

"It could be your reality. All you have to do is say the word." Sara informed flashing him her 'Grissom Smile'.

"The word." Grissom looked at Sara and then himself. "I guess it didn't work."

"Maybe I should rephrase that." Sara added with a laugh.

They fell quiet, both thinking that the alcohol must be affecting the other. Mulder and Scully had quietly watched the banter. They looked at each other and smiled. Scully leaned in to Mulder and whispered, "Do they remind you of anyone?"

He leaned in to her and whispered back. "Yeah. They're a little like us, only the roles are reversed. It's kinda strange."

"Must be an X-File." Scully quipped. Mulder let out a little chuckle.

The waitress returned with their meals. They ate in silence, consuming their meals relatively quickly. When they were all finished Mulder ordered them all another round of beer. He excused himself as the booze arrived and went out to check on the truck. Everything checked out fine and he rejoined his companions.

In the disappointment of not being able to leave town they had forgotten to check if there were rooms available at the Inn. Grissom and Mulder were elected to be the ones to find out. They left the women and went in search of the now-elusive waitress. Two attractive young men at the bar took that as their cue to move in on Scully and Sara. They swaggered up to the table and took the empty seats.

"Hi, I'm Rick and this is Danny." Rick was about 6'3" with wavy black hair and beautiful blue eyes. Danny was a little shorter with short blond hair and sparkling green eyes.

"Can we buy you ladies a drink?" Danny asked.

Sara and Scully exchanged an uncomfortable look. "We have drinks, but thanks anyways. We're actually waiting for our friends to return," Sara said, trying to be polite to the young men.

"Those two old guys?" Rick asked, seemingly perplexed as to why they would rather be in the company of the 'old guys'.

"Let me tell you, you ladies are way too hot to be with those two," Danny added.

"Hey, Danny, it's okay. If they want to spend quality time with their fathers we shouldn't get in the way," Rick said, seriously believing that Mulder and Grissom had to be Scully and Sara's fathers. _Otherwise,_ _who would choose those guys over me, _he thought rather arrogantly.

"All right, that's it. You guys have about two seconds to get your asses out of here before I kick them," Sara said angrily.

"Hey, calm down. We only offered you a drink. You don't have to go all bitch on us," Rick said, as he and Danny stood.

"I know you didn't just call me a bitch. You must have a death wish. Hey, guess what? Your two seconds are up." Sara jumped out of her chair and went after Rick. Scully quickly jumped up to stop her. Rick and Danny both took a step backwards and backed right into someone. They both turned around and were looking in the faces of Grissom and Mulder.

"Is there a problem here?" Grissom asked, a little angry that someone had upset Sara to the point of violence.

"If there is, I'm sure we could settle it outside," Mulder added, standing his ground and looking tougher than he actually was.

Rick and Danny looked at each other and then back at the two men standing in front of them. They both figured that a fight with these two might not be such a good thing. "No, sir. There's no problem. We were just leaving," Danny sputtered, trying not to sound too scared.

"Okay, then," Mulder said, as he stepped aside to let them pass.

Grissom didn't move though. "I think you should apologize to these fine young women before you go," he added, giving them both a look that made them shiver with fear.

"I'm sorry," Rick said before making a beeline for the door.

"I apologize. We were way out of line." And with that Danny fled.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Scully remarked as she took her seat.

The other three took their seats also. Sara was trying hard but she couldn't contain the smile that forced its way onto her face. _Ah, Grissom, my knight in cotton armor, _she thought to herself. "Hey, Grissom, did I ever tell you…you're my hero?" she said, unable to keep a straight face.

They all laughed before Grissom said with a smile, "I don't recall ever hearing that from you. I'll have to remember that."

"What about me, Scully? Am I your hero?" Mulder asked.

"No…Grissom is my hero. They were more afraid of him than they were of you. In fact, they were probably more afraid of Sara than they were of you." Scully teased.

"Ouch, Scully, that hurt." Mulder placed his hand on his chest in mock pain.

"We are heroes, Agent Mulder. We just saved two lives. Sara would have killed those guys if we hadn't intervened." Grissom said, taking a sip of his beer.

"They are lucky you showed up when you did. I do have my gun and it would have been justifiable since they called me a bitch." Sara declared.

Changing the subject Scully asked, "Did you manage to get us rooms?"

Mulder and Grissom looked at each other. Mulder answered, "Uh, yeah…one small problem though. Because of all the UFO sightings in the area there are a lot of sky-watchers in town. They only had two rooms available."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Sara asked.

"Well, we'll have to share." Grissom stated the obvious.

"We can do this three ways. You beautiful ladies can share a room and Grissom and I can bunk together, or Scully and I share and you and Grissom share," Mulder explained to Sara, "Or the last one, and I don't think Grissom here would like this pairing too much, no offense to you Scully, Grissom and Scully share and Sidle and I bunk together." He said, waggling his eyebrows at Sara, who tried her best not to laugh before Mulder continued, saying, "Let me just add that I'd prefer not to have to sleep with another guy."

Much to everyone's surprise Sara said, "Okay, Agent Mulder, it looks like it's you and me."

"What?" Grissom asked a little baffled.

"Relax, Grissom, I was only joking. As odd as this may sound, I'd feel more comfortable bunking with you." Sara rested her hand on his arm trying to get him to relax.

"Please tell me there are two beds in the room?" Scully whined.

"Oh…I left that little part out? Each room has one queen size bed. Sorry, but you'll have to sleep with me." Mulder said with a smirk.

"God, you better not snore, Griss." Sara teased. "Because if you do, you're sleeping in the truck."

"What do you care? You don't sleep." He decided a little banter would lighten up her mood.

"Yeah, well, you might interrupt my reading." She huffed with a hint of amusement.

"Like I'd be able to sleep anyway, with you in bed with me." He realized his little slip a tad too late. Mulder and Scully looked at the pair and raised their brows waiting for a response.

Sara smirked. "I soooo have a great response to that, but I'm not going to say it with Agents Mulder and Scully around."

The FBI agents looked a little disappointed. They all fell silent for a moment, looking around and giving dirty looks to the people staring at them. Mulder was scanning the room when he noticed a pool table. "Who's up for a game of pool?" he asked.

"I am," Sara answered. "How much money do you have?"

"Do we have a pool shark in our group?" Mulder inquired.

"Actually, I've never played before. You may have to teach me." Sara said innocently.

"I don't believe you," Mulder said, "You'll probably whoop my ass."

Sara stood up and asked, "So, are we gonna play or talk about it all night?"

"Oh, we're gonna play." Mulder responded with a smirk.

Sara and Mulder headed over to the pool table and started their game. Grissom and Scully watched them from their table. The waitress appeared and Grissom ordered another round of drinks. She quickly returned with their order and disappeared. Sara appeared to be having a lot more fun with the game of pool than Mulder, probably due to the fact that she was indeed kicking his ass. Grissom watched them long enough to come to the conclusion that Mulder was not going to put the moves on Sara. He had noticed earlier in the day that the FBI agents seemed to have a special connection. The pair seemed to care deeply for each other and he figured that Mulder's interaction with Sara was nothing more than harmless flirtation. He had a feeling that Agent Mulder's heart belonged to the woman sitting across from him.

"So, how long have you and Agent Mulder been partners?" he asked Scully, breaking the silence between them.

"Oh, it's been over ten years." She answered.

"And you've worked on this special paranormal phenomena unit the whole time?"

"Yes. We've been working on the X Files for almost the whole time. They've shut us down a couple times throughout the years."

"The X Files?" He asked with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

"They used to put all these kinds of strange unsolvable cases filed under U. Eventually there was no more room to file under U, so they started putting the weird unsolvable cases under X because there was plenty of room there. So…The X Files. That's Mulder's version of it anyway." She explained.

"I see. Are you a skeptic or a believer?"

"I started out as a skeptic. I approached our cases with a scientific mind. But over the years and with the things I've seen…I've come to accept the possibilities. The stubborn scientist in me, though, can't say that I believe wholeheartedly like Mulder does." She looked at Mulder and took a sip of beer. "I need proof, while Mulder will believe just about anything."

"Sounds like you two are nothing alike." Grissom noted.

"Like day and night." She responded with a chuckle. "What about you and Sara? How long have you been working together?"

"She's been working for me for about four years now. I knew her long before that though." He divulged.

"You two seem to have a special connection." She commented.

"I was thinking the same thing about you and Agent Mulder." Grissom revealed.

They shared a smile before turning their attention to the pair playing pool. Grissom's eyes were on Sara as she leaned over the table to make a shot. The 8 ball sank into the corner pocket and Mulder let out a groan. Sara patted him on the back with a satisfied grin on her face. Mulder was whining about Sara cheating as they returned to the table and took their seats.

"Did the two of you enjoy watching Sidle kick my ass?" Mulder asked as he took a swig of his beer.

"We weren't paying much attention to you. We were talking, but we did see the end. Good job, Sara, his ego needed a bruising." Scully said.

"Thanks, Scully. So, what were you talking about? Or is it private?" He asked Scully with a wink.

"We were talking about the usual…work." Scully replied.

"I doubt you could get Grissom to talk about anything else." Sara said. "You could probably get him to talk about bugs, but that falls under the work category. Doesn't it Bugman?"

"Bugman?" Mulder raised his eyebrows in question.

"I'm an entomologist." Grissom stated.

"An entomologist/forensic scientist, a doctor/FBI agent…we have some overachievers here. What about you, Sidle?" Mulder asked.

"I went to Harvard. I'm nothing special." Sara answered.

"Ivy League, huh? I went to Oxford. In our youth, we were all probably a bunch of nerds too smart for our own good." Mulder said with a grin.

"Speak for yourself." Scully huffed.

"I'm not gonna lie about it, I was a geek," Sara declared.

"You're still a geek," Grissom pointed out.

"It takes one to know one," Sara teased.

They all chuckled at Sara's comment. In unison the four grabbed their beers and took a drink. They all noticed and burst out laughing. The laughter subsided and the group fell silent. Mulder looked at his watch and said, "I should probably go check on the truck again."

Before he could get up Sara said, "I'll go check on it. I could use a little fresh air."

"All right." Mulder tossed Sara they keys.

Sara stepped out into the cool desert night and took a deep breath. The Little A'Le'Inn was a nice place, but since it was a restaurant/bar, they allowed people to smoke and the stench of cigarettes had started to get to Sara. She stood just outside of the door for a minute breathing in the fresh air, marveling that she willingly put that smoke in her lungs once. She soon felt better and continued with her task of checking the truck. She unlocked the back and looked inside. The bodies were still there and nothing seemed to have been tampered with, so she locked it back up. She leaned against the truck, deciding she would breath in some more clear air before rejoining the others.

Back inside, the other customers had seemed to lose interest in the group and were now busy minding their own business. Grissom noticed the change and let out a sigh of relief. The FBI agents were having a quiet conversation, while Grissom was glancing at his watch waiting for Sara to return. He was starting to wonder what was taking her so long, worrying that something had happened to her. _Stop worrying, Gil, she's probably just enjoying the fresh air. But what if there was a problem with the truck? She'll be fine she can take care of herself. _He continued to argue with himself.

Mulder and Scully were busy talking and Grissom was busy looking at his watch and arguing with himself, so no one noticed the man that had been eying Sara all night follow her outside. He had waited a few minutes after she left, watching her companions for the right moment to slip out. The three left at the table seemed to be distracted so he took that as his opportunity. He inconspicuously made his way outside. He stood in the shadows watching Sara check the truck. He watched her lean against the vehicle, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to make his move.

Inside the Inn, Grissom was becoming more worried with every passing second. Mulder noticed the concerned look on his face and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Grissom was a bit distracted but heard Mulder's question. "Sara's been gone a while."

"Maybe we should go and make sure everything's okay," Mulder suggested.

Grissom nodded and the two men made their way to the door. They stepped outside and saw no sign of Sara. Grissom's worry increased instantly. They checked the truck and everything was fine there. They looked around the parking lot but could not see her.

"I don't like this," Mulder said, concern evident in his voice.

"Me either," Grissom agreed.

The men started searching the parking lot, but couldn't find Sara. They were approaching the farthest and darkest end of the lot when they heard a noise. They shared a glance, worry etched in both their faces. They quickened their pace and headed to the source of that noise. They broke into a run when they heard Sara yell, "Get the fuck off me!"

The man had Sara between two vans. Mulder pulled out his gun as they approached and waved to Grissom to go around one side while he went around the other. Mulder cautiously went around the vehicle, while Grissom ran to Sara's aid. He felt a sharp spike of fury when he saw what was happening. The man had Sara on the ground and his hands were all over her, pulling at her clothes and groping. She was trying her hardest to fight back, but he was about three times her size and on top of her. Sara let out a scream just before Grissom pulled the guy off of her. The guy stumbled back, obviously drunk, and then he lunged at Grissom. Sara scurried out of the way quickly, while the attacker swung at Grissom but missed. Grissom, filled with rage, hit the guy in the jaw. The blow did little to stop the man and he took another swing at Grissom, connecting with his eye. Grissom managed to punch the guy in the stomach but received another hit in the face from the assailant.

He was about to hit Grissom again when Mulder appeared with his weapon drawn and shouted, "Stop right there! I'm a federal agent and I will shoot!"

The man stopped with his hand in a fist ready to swing. He looked at Mulder and back at Grissom. He contemplated trying to finish this fight but decided kicking a guy's ass wasn't worth getting shot and he dropped his hand to his side. Mulder quickly approached the man and handcuffed him. He patted him down and 'accidentally' elbowed him in the gut. The man let out a groan and started slurring something about police brutality.

While Agent Mulder was taking care of business, Grissom rushed over to Sara, who was standing a few feet away with her back to the men, staring off into the night. She had her arms wrapped around herself and was trying to catch her breath. Grissom laid his hand on her shoulder gently and asked, "Sara, are you okay?"

She didn't answer and from his position behind her, it appeared that she was crying. He slowly turned her around and pulled her into a hug. She immediately wrapped her arms around him. He held her close, rubbing her back soothingly. She was trying her hardest not to cry, but couldn't keep the tears from silently spilling down her face. Grissom felt the wetness on his shirt and tightened his hold on her. He was fighting the urge to leave her for a minute and go kill that guy with his bare hands. He resisted the urge knowing that Sara needed comfort.

Mulder approached the pair and said quietly, "I called the sheriff. He'll be here in a few minutes to get this guy."

"Thank you, Agent Mulder." Grissom replied not letting go of Sara.

"He'll need statements from all three of us," Mulder gently informed the pair.

Grissom turned his head towards Mulder and nodded. Mulder walked back over and grabbed the criminal and pushed him back towards the Inn. He was uncooperative in walking with the agent, so Mulder grabbed him by the arm and dragged him roughly towards the entrance to the restaurant. Scully walked out of the door just as Mulder and the perp were walking up. She looked at the man in cuffs and then at Mulder, clearly confused and worried.

"Mulder, what's going on?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"We came out to check on Sidle, but we couldn't find her. We started searching the parking lot and we heard her yell. We ran over to her and found this asshole attacking her. He and Grissom got into a little fight. I pulled my gun and stopped the fight, handcuffed the guy and now we're waiting for the sheriff." He informed her.

"Is Sara okay?" She asked concerned.

"She seems pretty shaken up. Grissom's with her." He pointed across the parking lot at the pair still in an embrace.

Grissom squeezed Sara a little tighter before pulling back. She let her arms fall to her side and kept her face down. He cupped her face in his hands and lifted her face up but she kept her eyes down. He gently stroked her cheeks with his thumbs and said, "Sara, please look at me."

She lifted her eyes to meet his. He saw the fear still there. "Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered weakly.

"Are you hurt anywhere? Do you need to see a doctor?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice a little stronger. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." He looked at her a little confused. _She was just attacked and she's asking if I'm all right? _It was then that he realized that in his scuffle with the psycho he did take a couple hits. With the adrenaline from the encounter rapidly wearing off, he started to feel the pain in his left eye and the left side of his mouth. He stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth and tasted blood.

"You don't look fine, Griss. You're bleeding. You have a cut above your eye and a busted lip. You're probably going to have a nice shiner soon." She said, feeling a little better. The corners of her mouth were even threatening to form a smile.

Noticing that she was beginning to act more normally, he let out a sigh of relief. He slowly brought his hands down to rest them on her shoulders. "You scared the hell out of me," he admitted. "Did that guy do anything…I mean did he…?" he trailed off not knowing how to ask.

"He had just attacked me when you and Agent Mulder arrived. I was taking a little walk around the parking lot when he came up from behind and pulled me in between those vans and pushed me up against one. He tried to kiss me but I pushed him away. He kept trying to grab me and I was fighting to get away from him, but he was so drunk he stumbled and fell on top of me. I yelled at him to get the fuck off me, and then you and Mulder showed up. You know the rest." Sara explained in one breath.

"You seem to be handling this very well," Grissom observed.

"Nothing really happened. I don't want to think about it. I just want to forget this ever happened and keep going."

"Well, you may have to put off forgetting about this for a little while." She gave him an odd look and he added, "The sheriff just arrived and we have to give him our statements. Can you handle that?"

"I can handle anything," She said walking off confidently to give her statement to the sheriff.

Grissom let out a heavy sigh and followed her.

Sara gave the sheriff a quick replay of the attack. Grissom and Mulder gave their statements also. The sheriff took his time reading the guy his rights and getting him in the car while Grissom wondered how he ever got anything done. He seemed to be the slowest man in law enforcement. Sheriff Maxwell finally got finished going over the night's events with the group and asked Grissom about what he had found out at the scene. Grissom gave him a vague description of all they had discovered and told him that the Las Vegas coroner had picked up the bodies. He told him that he would inform him of their findings once the bodies and evidence were properly processed. The sheriff didn't seem to really care and gave the group a laconic, "See ya around," before he left.

The quartet watched as the taillights of the sheriff's car disappeared into the darkness. Mulder turned to the other three and said, "Who else needs another beer?"

"I sure could use a couple more." Sara replied.

"I think I need another one too." Grissom added.

Scully sighed and joked, "Peer pressure…you three are a bad influence on me."

They went back in and reclaimed their table. Mulder ordered them another round. Grissom was very concerned about Sara and kept looking at her every few minutes to make sure she was okay. She noticed his anxiety and felt like she should say something to him, but she didn't know what to say. Nothing had really happened, the guy manhandled her a little, but Grissom arrived just in time to save the day…or night. The incident hadn't really affected her like he thought it had, she had been in worse situations. She felt the need to put him at ease.

"I know you're worried, Grissom. I'm fine, really." She quietly told him, with a small smile.

"Are you sure? You were pretty shaken up earlier." He asked softly.

"It had just happened. I was scared until you showed up. I just needed a few minutes to deal with it." She explained.

"And now you've dealt with it?"

"Yes. It was no big deal."

"Sara…"

"Grissom, please, I just want to put it behind me." She interrupted.

"Okay, but if you want to talk or anything…I'll be there for you." He offered her, gently touching her shoulder.

She was a little stunned by his gesture. She smiled at him and reached up and patted his hand. Feeling the need to touch her for as long as possible, he left his hand on her shoulder a few minutes before pulling it away to grab his beer. Sara didn't know what to think about this Grissom that she had been seeing since they left Las Vegas. Maybe he had changed over the last year and she hadn't been paying enough attention to notice. She quickly discarded that idea thinking, _when do I not pay attention to Grissom. If he's around I'm watching him. If he's not around, well, he's always on my mind. I would know if he changed that drastically. He's just worried about me, that's all. He saw that guy attacking me and decided to be nice. But he's been nice to me since we left Vegas; maybe he's trying to be friends again. _She turned to look at him, curiously trying to put the puzzle together.

The waitress approached the table and informed them that the bar would be closing soon. They ordered another round and she quickly brought their drinks.

Mulder looked at the others around the table and thought back on how long a day this had been. He grabbed his beer, raised it up in front of him in a toast and said, "Thank God this day is almost over. Here's hoping that tomorrow will be less eventful and a lot less stressful."

The other three nodded in agreement and the four of them clinked their bottles together. Mulder and Scully took a long swig of their beer, while Grissom just had a sip. Sara, on the other hand, chugged down what was left in her bottle. She slammed the bottle down on the table and said, "Aaahhh! That's the second best way to end a bad day."

"What's the first best way to end a bad day?" Grissom inquired.

Sara smirked at him and said, "I don't think you want to know."

Grissom gave her a smirk of his own, "Try me."

"Let's just say it involves a man, a woman and a bed." She let out a small laugh as the smirk disappeared from Grissom's face.

"Well, it looks like you'll be ending your bad day in the best way. You two, a man and a woman, have to share a bed." Mulder cut in, a huge grin on his face.

"That's not exactly what I meant." Sara said. "And what I had in mind…Grissom would have no part of."

Much to Sara's surprise Grissom asked, "What makes you so sure?"

"The word NO comes to mind." She replied.

"That was then…and this is not going to be discussed in front of other people." Grissom whispered, suddenly realizing that the FBI agents were hanging on their every word.

"You're right. That is a conversation for another time. I'm exhausted. I just want to go to bed and sleep."

"All right, I'll just pay our bill and we'll go to our room." Grissom said, searching his pockets for his wallet.

"I'll pay the bill," Mulder stated. "It's the least I can do, since you guys are helping us."

"Are you sure? We can split it." Grissom said.

"It's on me." Mulder wandered off to pay the bill.

Scully stood from her seat with a sigh. "You two have a good night."

"You too, Agent Scully." Sara said as she stood.

"Good night." Grissom added standing up.

Scully walked over to Mulder who was standing by the door waiting for her. He held the door open for her and they exited the Inn. Grissom walked Sara to the door with his hand on the small of her back. She was still wondering what had brought about this change in him, but wasn't about to complain about the attention. He held the door open for her and they went in search of their room.


	3. 3

Thanks to Lady Kes and thanks for the reviews

**__**

**_Room #10_**

Grissom switched the light on as they entered the room. Sara let out a groan as she took in their accommodations. The room was modest and furnished with a small table with two chairs, a dresser with an ancient television sitting on top of it and a bed with nightstands on both sides. To the left of the door were the bathroom and a small closet. Sara turned on the light and entered the bathroom. She looked around and quickly left the small area with a disgusted look on her face. Their lodging was a far cry from the fancy hotels of Las Vegas but was still clean enough to not be classified as a roach motel. She made her way to the bed and fell backwards onto the lumpy mattress. Grissom wanted nothing more than to join her on that mattress, lumpy or not.

Sara was laying on her back with her eyes closed when she realized, "We forgot to grab our bags."

"I'll go get them," Grissom offered.

Without looking his way or opening her eyes she added, "Hey, get the first aid kit while you're at the truck. We need to take care of your face."

"Okay. I'll be right back. Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone."

"I can't make any promises." She replied with a grin.

Grissom left and quickly returned with their bags and the first aid kit. He set the bags down on the foot of the bed, which caused Sara to open her eyes. She sat up and watched him set the first aid kit on the table and sit heavily in one of the chairs. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair and then looked at Sara. She got up and walked over to the table, picking up the kit. She opened it up, checked the contents and said, "We should get you cleaned up. You don't want to get an infection or anything."

"Okay, Mom." Grissom sighed.

"We should probably do this in the bathroom. The light's better in there."

"I don't need your help. I can do it myself." He stated.

"I know you can do it yourself, but you're not going to…I am. You saved me from that asshole and then you did your best to take care of me after. So, now I'm going to take care of you. Now get your ass in there before I get violent." She smiled pointing towards the bathroom.

He did as told and made his way to the bathroom. As he passed her he said, "You wouldn't hurt me."

"You think?" A wicked grin appeared on her face.

The bathroom was small and very basic, but there was a lot of counter space on both sides of the sink, so Grissom hoisted himself up to sit on the right side of the sink. Sara set the first aid kit down on the other side. She took out a few bandages and some antiseptic. Grissom watched her, feeling a little awkward with the current situation. She grabbed a washcloth off the rack and wet it. She wrung out the excess water and moved to stand in front of Grissom. He let out a sigh and placed his hands on his knees, bracing himself for whatever she was going to do to him.

Sara let a small smile form on her lips and moved closer to Grissom, holding the rag up in the space between them. "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you," she teased.

"Be gentle," he pleaded.

"I thought you liked it rough," she joked. His eyes grew wide and she let out a laugh. "Relax, Griss, I was only joking."

"Sara Sidle, someday your humor is going to kill me." He tried to smile but winced as he felt a little twinge of pain at the corner of his mouth.

She just smiled and began wiping away the dried blood from the cut above his eye. She cleaned up the wound and applied some ointment to the bandage before putting it over the gash. She was busy concentrating on the task at hand, while Grissom was busy concentrating on her. They were only a few inches apart and that gave him the perfect opportunity to look at her. It was a rare occasion to be able to watch her without worrying about someone seeing him do so.

She finished with the cut above his eye and rinsed the washcloth. She went back to work clearing the blood off of his cheek, slowly working her way to his swollen lip. The closer she got to the sensitive area, the more the tension rose. They were both fighting that charge that had formed in the air between them. It would be so easy to close the distance between them.

Sara washed out the cloth again before finally attempting to clean the blood from the corner of his mouth and bottom lip. She gently dabbed the area trying not to cause him any pain. Grissom was not feeling any pain at the moment. It took all he had to not touch her, to not just give in and kiss her. She took her time, not wanting this closeness to come to an end. There was enough electricity between them to light up half of Las Vegas.

She was becoming distracted by the tension and accidentally applied too much pressure to the wound. He winced and quickly reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling it away. He didn't let go of her hand. He kept a loose hold on it, his thumb absently stroking the skin on her wrist. She looked in his eyes, her mouth hanging slightly open and her heart beating faster. They stayed frozen in that position for a minute. Grissom let go of Sara's hand and reached both of his hands out to lightly grasp Sara's waist. He slowly pulled her closer, never breaking eye contact. Their faces were so close now, noses almost touching, eyes still locked on each other.

As bad as Sara wanted to kiss Grissom, she made no move to do so. He had to be the one to initiate it, but waiting for the inevitable kiss was sweet agony. Grissom could no longer wait and slowly closed the distance. Their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss. Grissom pulled back, he brought his right hand up and tucked a lock of hair behind Sara's ear. He lightly ran his fingertips across her cheek then to her lips. He traced her bottom lip with his index finger, eliciting a small gasp from her. He dropped his hand back to her waist and went in for another kiss. A small peck turned into longer more sensual kisses. Grissom moved his hands to Sara's back to pull her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

Both were enjoying the moment and neither wanted it to end, but knowing that it was too soon for this to lead anywhere, both knew that they would soon have to stop. Sara was the one to pull away, albeit hesitantly. Grissom licked his lips and gave her a small smile. He let brought his hands up to cup her face and she gave him a shy smile.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said, a little out of breath.

"Oh…I think I have a pretty good idea," she responded.

He forced his hands to let go of their hold on her face and brought them down to rest on his knees. He took a deep breath and letting it out said, "We should go to bed."

"Damn, Griss, you don't waste any time." She let out a little chuckle.

He gave her a disapproving look and said, "To sleep, my dear, to sleep. Nothing more."

"You're no fun," she teased.

"I'm exhausted. I'll be a whole lot more fun once I get some rest."

"Well, then, let's hit the hay." She turned on her heels and exited the bathroom. He jumped down off the counter and followed her out.

They quickly changed into their sleeping attire, taking turns in the bathroom. Grissom, being a gentleman, let Sara change first. By the time he was done changing clothes she was already in the bed. He approached the bed and noticed that she was lying in the middle. He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. When she didn't acknowledge him, he cleared his throat. She looked at him and noticed the questioning look on his face. She flashed him her 'Grissom smile' and sat up.

"I figured I'd let you pick which side you wanted so I laid down in the middle. When you choose I'll move to my side. So, what's it going to be? Right or left?"

He carefully looked at both sides of the bed and then at her and answered, "Right."

Sara moved over to the left side of the bed. Grissom turned off the lights before joining her under the covers. He let out a sigh as he rested his head on the pillow. The mattress was lumpy and uncomfortable, but he really didn't care. All he wanted to do right now was sleep. The last thing he remembered before drifting off was Sara saying, "If we happen to accidentally wind up touching, don't freak out." She received no response except the sound of his breathing. She let her eyelids close and was asleep within minutes.

**_Room # 10_**

**_8:05 a.m._**

Sara awoke feeling more rested and content than she had in years. She tried to roll over, but found that the arm wrapped around her waist stalled her movements. She moved her head a little so that she could see Grissom. He was lying spooned up behind her, deep in sleep. She figured he would freak out if he woke up in that position, so she gently extracted herself from his hold and got out of bed. She grabbed her bag and quietly headed for the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, took a quick shower and got dressed. Grissom was still asleep when she came out of the bathroom. He was so exhausted last night, she didn't have the heart to wake him. She tried to kill some time by reading the forensics magazine she had brought with her.

Sara's reading took no time at all, since the magazine held no new and interesting information for her. She sighed and threw the magazine into her bag. She drummed her fingers on her knee as she looked around the room. The television finally caught her attention and she decided some TV might not be such a bad idea. Making as little noise as possible, she moved the chair in front of the dresser and reached up and turned the TV on. She kept the volume very low and turned through the channels. For all of her tuning and fidgeting with the antennae, she could only get one channel. _Well, I guess this is as good as it gets. _She leaned back in the chair, propped her feet up on the dresser and focused her attention on 'I Love Lucy'.

Grissom woke up feeling the emptiness on the other side of the bed. He remembered waking up in the middle of the night with Sara in his arms. It had been an odd, but good feeling, so he had wrapped his arm around her a little tighter and drifted back to sleep. He lay there for a second, eyes still closed, trying to become fully awake. The curiosity of where Sara was soon caused him to sit up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and saw her sitting in front of the TV, legs propped up on the dresser, looking totally relaxed. He smiled inwardly, thinking he wouldn't mind waking up every day with Sara around.

Sara hadn't noticed that he had woken up, so she was a little startled when he spoke. "What are you watching?" He asked, his voice rough from sleep.

"I Love Lucy." She replied, glancing at him for a second before turning back to the TV.

"I didn't know you liked those old shows."

"Well, this thing only gets one channel. But I do _love _Lucy." She said with a smile.

"We all do." He got out of bed and walked around to sit at the foot of the bed. "Let me guess, this is the one where Lucy wants to be in Ricky's show and she's doing all kinds of crazy things trying to be in it."

"Well, that wasn't hard to surmise considering every episode was like that." She flashed him the smile that he loved.

He nodded and looked at the floor, still a little groggy. "How long have you been up?"

She looked at her watch and answered, "Well, it's 8:51, so I've been up for about 45 minutes."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You were so exhausted last night and you seemed to be sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you."

"I haven't slept that well in a while." He admitted.

"Me either."

He put his index finger on his lips in thought and looked up at the ceiling. "Hmm. I wonder why we slept so well."

"Yeah, I thought you wouldn't be able to sleep if I was in bed with you?" She said, teasing him with his earlier words.

"After what happened in the bathroom, I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep, especially with you right next to me."

"Life is full of surprises." She said dryly.

"Yeah, it is." He quietly agreed.

Changing the subject, Sara asked, "How's your eye? You've got quite the shiner."

"It's a little sore. My mouth feels about the same."

"Do you want me to go get you some ice?"

"No, thank you. I think I'm just gonna hop in the shower and then hopefully we can get the hell out of this town."

"All right. Get a move on."

He shook his head at her comment as he grabbed his things and headed for the bathroom. He took a cool shower, the tepid water feeling good on his bruised face. He quickly washed himself and was out of the shower in minutes. He dressed, brushed his teeth and rejoined Sara in the room. He exited the bathroom to find her making the bed. He chuckled to himself and said, "You know, they pay people to do that."

She looked up at him sheepishly. "I got bored. I needed to do something."

"Don't you ever stop?"

"Stop, what?" she asked perplexed.

"Thinking, moving, doing things."

"I do stop _moving _and _doing things_. However, I never stop thinking. I can't help it, my mind's always going."

"I know how you feel, but I can be still for more than five minutes at a time."

"Hey, I was still all night while I was asleep."

"No, you weren't. I had to put my arm around you to stop you from rolling all over the bed." _I didn't just say that out loud, did I?_

"Oh, really?" Sara raised her brows, an amused expression on her face.

"Uh…yeah…I…um."

"And here I was thinking that it was an innocent accident." Her smirk grew bigger with the deer caught in the headlights look Grissom was now sporting.

"Are you hungry? I'm starved. Let's go get some breakfast." He said, trying to derail the conversation.

"Way to change the subject, Griss. All right, let's go get something to eat."

They gathered up their things and left the room. After throwing their stuff in the Tahoe, they made their way to the restaurant.

**_In the restaurant…_**

****

As Grissom and Sara walked in the door they saw the FBI agents sitting at a table. Mulder noticed their entrance and waved them over. Grissom walked Sara to the table with his hand on the small of her back. He even pulled her chair out for her. She gave him an odd look and sat down. Her earlier alien abduction theory was starting to seem more plausible. Grissom was acting a lot different these past couple days. She had to admit to herself that she liked it, but it did feel a bit strange. The waitress appeared at the table to leave some menus and ask if anyone wanted coffee. She left and quickly returned with four steaming cups of the much-needed caffeine.

Mulder took a sip of his coffee and cheerfully asked, "So, Grissom and Sidle, did you two sleep well?"

Sara cast a shy glance at Grissom and answered, "I haven't slept so well in years. I was exhausted."

"Ditto." Grissom added.

"So, there was no hanky panky going on?" Mulder inquired, a huge grin on his face.

"Mulder, shut up and leave them alone." Scully cut in.

"Hey, I was just trying to…"

"Be nosy." Scully interrupted.

Mulder shot Scully a dirty look, which made her smile. He picked up his menu and began to look it over. "What's for breakfast?" He asked himself.

The other three picked up their menus and examined their breakfast choices. The waitress returned a few minutes later to take their orders. "Well, aren't y'all becoming regulars. My name is Wanda, by the way. So, what can I get ya?"

"I'll have the Flying Saucer Pancake Plate." Scully said, laying her menu on the table.

"Oh, tough choice," Mulder commented, still looking at the menu. "I guess I'll have the UFO Platter."

"I'll have the Area 51 Omelet." Grissom made his order, slightly shaking his head in disbelief.

"And what about you, Miss?" Wanda asked, picking up the menus.

"I'll just have some toast." Sara answered.

"All right, coming right up." Wanda left the table, but not before winking at the two men.

Sara rolled her eyes and glared at her retreating form. "I can't wait to get out of this town and get far away from Winking Wanda."

"She's not that bad." Grissom realized he shouldn't have said that when Sara turned to him and raised her brows, with a look that scared him a little.

"Well, we can always leave you here. The two of you can get married and have a bunch of blue eyed winking children." Sara said.

Grissom smiled at Sara and said, "Nah…she's not my type."

"What is your type?" Mulder asked, butting into the conversation.

"I like intelligent, beautiful, stubborn women." Grissom admitted.

Sara was a bit stunned that he actually answered the question. She was more surprised when Mulder asked her the same question. "What's my type? Well…my perfect man would have to be honest, intelligent, trustworthy, funny, good looking and a little mysterious." Sara answered. She looked at Mulder for a moment and asked, "Do you meet my criteria?"

Mulder was a little taken aback by her question and looked at Scully for some form of help. She found the situation amusing and answered Sara's question for him. "Well, he is honest, he's intelligent, very trustworthy, he thinks he's funny, and he's obviously somewhat good looking, but he's not mysterious…he's an open book."

"Damn. You missed out by one." Sara tried to look serious, but a smile forced its way onto her face.

Grissom, who normally would have been bothered by Sara feigning interest in another man, let out a little chuckle. Winking Wanda arrived at that moment carrying their orders. She placed their plates on the table and asked if she could get them anything else, before attending to the other customers. They ate their meal in silence. All four acted like they hadn't eaten in days, quickly consuming their food. They finished their coffee and Mulder, again, offered to pay the tab. Grissom tried to argue with him about it, but Mulder convinced him to let the FBI foot the bill.

They walked out of the restaurant and squinted in the bright morning sunlight. Mulder slipped on a pair of sunglasses, looked to the others and asked, "Is everyone ready to hit the trail?"

The three nodded and Mulder added, "Okay, then. I guess we'll see you two at the gas station."

Mulder checked the truck once more before hopping in and starting it up. Scully climbed in the passenger side and was suddenly hit with a thought. "Mulder, what about the rental car? We left it out in the middle of nowhere."

"We'll just call the company and say it broke down. They'll have to come out and get it."

"Okay, but if there are any excess charges you're paying them."

"Fair enough." Mulder said, as he pulled the truck onto the highway and headed for the gas station.

Grissom and Sara didn't say a word to each other as they got in the Tahoe and followed the agents down the road.

**_Quik Pik Mini Mart_**

They soon arrived at the station and pulled up to one of the old gas pumps. Mulder and Grissom made their way inside to pay for the fuel. Mulder came out and began pumping the gas into the old truck. Sara watched the door, wondering why Grissom was taking so long. She was about to go inside and check on him when he came out carrying a brown paper sack. He set it on top of the pump while he put in the gas.

Sara watched him through the mirror. She took pleasure in seeing him do something that was just a simple everyday task. She rarely got to see that side of him. She, mostly, only knew 'Work Grissom'. She saw Mulder walk over to Grissom and tell him something, to which he nodded. He finished filling up the truck, grabbed the bag and took his seat behind the wheel. He looked over at Sara, who had a curious look on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her and she raised one back.

"What's in the bag, Griss?"

"Just some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Stuff I bought inside the store."

"What did you buy?"

"A few things."

"Grissom! What the hell is in that bag?"

He gave her a smirk and reached inside the bag. He shuffled a few things around and then pulled out a bottle of ice tea. He looked at it for a second and handed it over to Sara. "Just in case you get thirsty."

"Thanks. How thoughtful of you."

"Oh…I also have something else for you." He reached inside the bag and searched around. "Close your eyes, Sara."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise. Please, close your eyes."

She closed her eyes. He pulled out a beautiful, but fake red rose. "Put your hand out." He ordered. She put her hand out and he set the rose in her hand. "You can open your eyes now."

Sara opened her eyes and looked at her gift. "A fake rose. Grissom, you shouldn't have."

"Well, I could have gotten you a real one, but they die. This one you can keep forever to remind you of me." He said, a shy smile forming on his lips.

"It's very sweet, Grissom. Thank you." She flashed him that huge smile of hers.

His smile grew bigger. "You're welcome."

Grissom looked at her a moment longer, before starting the engine. He put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the road, Mulder and Scully following closely behind in the old box-truck.

They rode along in silence for a while, but Sara's curiosity was killing her. She couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "What else is in the bag, Grissom?"

"Just a few things, Sara."

"Come on, what did you buy in the store?"

"Souvenirs."

"What kind of souvenirs?" She asked.

"I'll let you see what's in the bag if you tell me how you know about UFOs and all that other stuff."

Sara smirked. "If I told you, you'd be off the hook and I wouldn't get my dinner."

"Well, I guess you'll find out what's in the bag when I find out how you know all those things. So, I guess it's a quiet dinner for two when we get back to Vegas."

"I can wait." She said, turning her attention to the road ahead of them.


	4. 4

Thanks for the reviews

Huge thanks to Lady Kes

_****_

_**On the road again…**_

****

Breaking the silence that had seemed to rule the car since they left Rachel, Sara asked, "What's your favorite color, Grissom?"

Shooting her a quizzical look, he asked, "Why?"

"Just trying to get to know you better. If it's too personal, don't answer," She shrugged.

"Blue. What's yours?"

"Red. What's your biggest pet peeve?"

"Nosy brunettes. What's yours?"

"Mysterious scientists."

"I thought you liked mysterious men."

"Yeah, but they can't be too mysterious. I'd like to be able to figure them out, at least a little."

"So, you want someone mysterious, but not too mysterious?"

"It's silly, I know."

"Hey, whatever lights your fire."

Sara let out a small chuckle and they shared a smile. She was about to ask him another question when her phone rang. She flipped it open and put it to her ear.

"Sidle."

"_What are you wearing?" _A man's voice asked.

Sara pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it for a second. She put it back to her ear and asked, "Who is this?"

_"This is Fox Mulder from the Alien Moving Company."_

"Agent Mulder, what's up?"

_"That depends on what you're wearing."_

"Well, I'm wearing the same thing I was wearing when we left Rachel," she said. Grissom shot her a curious look and she smiled at him.

_"That's too bad. I was just calling to ask what we're gonna do once we get to Vegas."_

"Oh. Well, I'll talk to Grissom and then call you back."

_"All right, I'll be waiting."_

Sara closed her phone and shook her head.

"What did Agent Mulder want?" Grissom asked.

"He wanted to know what I was wearing," she said. Grissom gave her a look that had that was a mixture of irritation and jealousy. She gave him a smirk before she continued, "He wants to know what we're gonna do once we get to Vegas."

"That's a good question. I have no idea what to do. How are we going to keep this a secret? There are way too many curious and nosy people at the lab to keep this between the four of us."

"We will definitely have to wait until nightshift," Sara said.

"Yeah. There is no way in hell I'm taking those bodies in during dayshift. We'll have to tell Doc Robbins and beg him to let Agent Scully perform the autopsies there. I don't think anyone other than Doc needs to know about this. I know he can keep a secret."

"What if someone else finds out?" Sara asked apprehensively.

"We'll deal with that if and when it happens. I don't want anyone else to find out about this."

"Well, what are we supposed to do until shift?"

"I don't know," he said on a sigh.

"I guess the agents can hang out at my place until I have to go to work," she said, her brows furrowed in thought.

He looked at her for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay with that? I know I'd feel very uncomfortable with two strangers in my home all day."

"You'd feel uncomfortable with two _friends _in your house for a _minute_."

"Maybe."

"Maybe, my ass. You would totally freak out. If I came over to your house you would be trying to figure out every possible way to get me out of there quick." She looked at him with a smirk on her face.

"Well, maybe you should come over to my house someday and test your theory. Then you'd realize how wrong you are." A smirk appeared on his face.

"I'm sorry, we've never met before. My name is Sara," she said as she extended her right hand toward him, which he playfully swatted away.

She looked at him curiously for a minute and asked, "What's going on with you, Grissom?"

He gave her a confused look and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting different ever since we left Las Vegas. You're being nice, you've been more open, you've been fun…aside from the way you acted toward the sheriff and Agent Mulder, you've been very un-Grissom-like."

He shrugged. "It's the new me. I'm trying to change."

"Well, don't change too much. I like you the way you are…most of the time."

"Most of the time…you see, there's room for improvement… I've just been thinking about my life lately and realized that there are some things that I need to change. I need to learn to deal with people better. I need to be a better boss and a better friend. I need to not be so closed off to those who care about me and who I care about. I need to learn to have fun and enjoy life."

"Damn, Grissom. You have been thinking," she said impressed.

"I realized that I've missed out on a lot of things while I was so focused on my work and my career. I had this epiphany one day that there are things more important than my job. There are a lot of things out there that I have never experienced because I thought they weren't important, but now I want to experience those things."

"This isn't where you start lecturing me on being obsessed with my work, is it?"

"No. We've had that conversation several times before. There's really no point in having it again. I'm not going to lecture you anymore…I'm going to set an example. I'm still going to do my job and be good at it, but it's not going to be the only thing in my life."

"Wow! The new and improved Gil Grissom. What will people think?" she teased.

His lips twisted up into a small smile before he turned serious saying, "You better call Agent Mulder and tell him our plan."

Sara pulled out her phone and called Mulder. She told him that he and Scully could hang out at her apartment until the nightshift started. She gave him a quick rundown of all the reasons why they had to wait until their shift to bring in the bodies. Mulder told her he had no problem with their plan and would go along with whatever they said. It was their lab after all. She ended the call and turned to look at Grissom. She studied his face for a few minutes. She noticed that the swelling had gone down on his lip, but the black eye was hard to miss. She felt bad that he had gotten hurt because of her.

"Is your face still sore?"

"A little."

"I never thanked you for saving me."

"You don't have to thank me. You would have done the same for me."

"I feel bad. You were trying to protect me and you got a black eye and a busted lip."

"My first black eye," he admitted.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Was that on your list of things to experience?"

"Well, I always wanted to save a damsel in distress." He tried to look serious, but couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from turning upwards.

"Ah, I see. You've always had this dream of being a knight in shining armor."

"What man doesn't?"

"Well, last night you were my knight, so you can scratch that off your list."

"It's done. Now if I could only scratch a few more things off my list I'd feel like I was making progress."

Sara studied him for a few minutes. "If you told me what was on your list, maybe I could help you out."

"I've always wanted to try skinny dipping," he said seriously.

Sara let out a laugh. "Are you serious? Because, if you are, that's something I'm pretty sure I could help you with."

"Sounds like someone's had a lot of experience…first airplane bathrooms, now skinny dipping. What other surprises do you have in store for me?"

She tried to look offended by his comment, but couldn't contain her smile and amusement with this whole conversation. Grissom seemed to be enjoying it as much as she was. A small grin seemed to be permanently attached to his face at the moment.

"Well, Grissom, that's for me to know and you to find out."

"That sounds like something else we'll have to discuss over dinner."

"You mean you're not gonna chicken out on me?"

"I said we'd have dinner. I'm a man of my word."

"Yeah, but you didn't say when. I don't want to wait three years for my dinner."

"I promise you won't have to wait that long. It will happen very soon."

"Cool. I won't hold my breath, though."

"Ms. Sidle, one day I'm going to shock the hell out of you."

"Ooh! Sounds interesting. I can't wait."


	5. 5

_**Las Vegas**_

They had arrived in Las Vegas by noon. It was decided that Mulder and Scully would hang out at Sara's apartment until shift started. Grissom had thought it would be a lot easier for Scully to do what she had to do without having to worry about Ecklie and the dayshift. He trusted the people on the nightshift and knew that they would keep everything a secret if they happened to find out anything. Grissom had dropped Sara off and left to run a few errands before going home to rest before going to work.

Sara was a little uncomfortable at first with having the two FBI agents in her home for the whole day. She had no idea what to do with two strangers in her home. She tried to relax by fixing them some lunch. She became more comfortable over lunch when Mulder struck up a conversation about work. He and Scully seemed very interested in what she did and it put her at ease to discuss the subject.

Through the course of their conversation, Sara realized that she really liked the pair. She thought to herself that she could easily form a lasting friendship with them. She spent half the afternoon telling them stories of her strangest, creepiest, most challenging cases. She told them all about the people who worked at the lab and what to expect if they ran into any of them. She warned Scully to beware of Greg, who might follow her around like a little puppy dog. She told Mulder to watch out for Catherine, since Sara didn't know how she would react when she saw him. Sara did know how Catherine might react to Scully, unfortunately, and warned Scully that Catherine might be a little bitchy to Scully since Catherine didn't like new women in her territory. She finished her description of the team telling them that Warrick and Nick were easy going, good guys.

The time had gone by quickly, though it was still several hours before shift started. Sara had been curious about the agents' line of work and decided it was her turn to be inquisitive. "So, what was the strangest case you've ever worked?" she asked.

"Now that's a question," Mulder chuckled. "How much time do you have?"

"All of our cases are pretty strange," Scully remarked. "Even if you put aside the aliens and conspiracy part of our work, we've seen some bizarre things."

"What do you want to know about?" Mulder asked.

"Whatever you want to tell me," Sara said.

"Let's see," Mulder thought for a moment. "There was the liver eating mutant, the flukeman, the invisible elephant, lightning boy, El Chupacabra, the headless cancer eating paramedic, monkey tail man, vampires, the kid that ate brains…am I leaving anything out, Scully?"

"You're leaving a lot of things out," she answered.

"Liver eating, cancer eating, brain eating…man, that's just gross and so far beyond wrong," Sara said, making a disgusted face.

"Nothing was as gross as that flukeman thing," Scully said, shaking her head.

"None of it was that bad. You really had to be there to appreciate it all. Scully just gets a little down because science can't explain everything we investigate. She's too stubborn to just take things for what they are," Mulder added with a smirk.

"I need proof," Scully defended, "I'm not going to run around saying I believe in things when science can't prove whether or not they're real."

"And what if your science says what Sidle and Grissom found out in the desert are in fact aliens?" Mulder inquired.

"Then I'll believe it, but not before I can prove it," she replied.

Mulder turned to Sara with a grin and said, "See, I told you she was stubborn."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being stubborn, Agent Mulder," Sara declared.

"Oh, great, two against one. That's just not fair," Mulder whined.

Sara and Scully shared a smirk. Scully turned to Mulder and said, "You're one to talk about being stubborn, Mulder. You know, people in glass houses…"

"Blah, blah, blah," he quickly interrupted.

The three continued to talk about their work for the rest of the day. Mulder gave Sara all the gory details of his favorite cases with Scully jumping in every now and then to add her two cents about what they had investigated. Sara was fascinated by the work they had done and sat transfixed as Mulder began to explain to her everything he knew about aliens, the government conspiracy and the many adventures he and his partner had shared. Before she knew it, it was time to get ready to head off to work.


	6. 6

Thanks for the reviews

and thank you Lady Kes:)

_****_

_**Crime Lab**_

**_Beginning of shift _**

Grissom arrived at the lab before the rest of his staff. He decided he would try to get through some of his paperwork before shift started. He also figured he could use the time to devise a way to get Doc Robbins to help them. He was so engrossed in his thoughts and his paperwork that he didn't hear the soft knock on his door. Catherine walked in his office and took the seat across from him.

"How was your road trip?" she asked. He was a bit startled and quickly looked up at her. She immediately noticed his black eye and swollen lip. "Gil, what happened to you? Did Sara finally get tired of your crap and knock the shit out of you?" she teased, but there was a hint of seriousness in her voice.

"Sara didn't do this to me. She would never do something like that, Catherine."

"Then what the hell happened to you?" she asked, seemingly concerned.

"It's a very long story, but the short version is…some guy was attacking Sara, I pushed him off her and we exchanged a few blows."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She was a bit shaken up right after it happened, but she quickly recovered."

"Are you sure she's all right? You're not very good in emotional situations."

"I handled things just fine, Catherine. Ask Sara."

"Ask me what?" Sara walked into the office and looked back and forth between Catherine and Grissom, waiting for one of them to speak.

Catherine looked at Grissom and then to Sara and said, "Grissom was just telling me what happened to you. Are you all right?"

"Thanks for your concern, Cath, but I'm fine. Grissom was there and saved me."

"Well, it seems like the last couple days were more eventful for you two than they were for all of Las Vegas," Catherine said. "We have been bored out of our minds here. We haven't had one good case since the two of you left."

"Maybe all of Las Vegas knew that its two best CSIs were out of town and they didn't want to give you anything too challenging until we got back," Sara said, trying to look and sound serious, but failing miserably.

"Yeah, that's it," Catherine said sarcastically.

"Are Nick and Warrick in yet?" Grissom asked.

"I just saw them and Greg in the break room," Sara informed.

Grissom grabbed a file and assignment slips and stood. He made his way to the door and stopped, turning to look at the women expectantly. "Well, ladies, shall we?" He stepped to the side and extended his arm indicating that they should precede him out of the office. The women shared a smile before filing out of the room.

-

Warrick, Nick and Greg were sitting around the break room table having a conversation about the best place to pick up women. Grissom, Sara and Catherine quietly strolled into the room and Warrick was the first to notice their entrance. "Hey, Grissom and Sara, welcome back. How was your road tr—Grissom, what happened to your face, man?"

At Warrick's questions Nick and Greg looked up at Grissom. Nick quickly gave Sara a suspicious look and said, "Sara, what did you do to Grissom?"

"Why does everyone think that Sara did this to me?" Grissom asked.

"Because we all know…never mind." Greg shut his mouth after receiving looks that could kill from both Sara and Catherine.

"So, are you going to tell us how you got that black eye, Griss?" Warrick inquired.

"I got hit," Grissom answered. Sara chuckled at his answer, which caused the rest of the team to look at her. "What?" she asked.

"Come on, Sara, you can tell us. We won't think less of Grissom just because you beat him up," Nick prodded.

"I didn't beat him up. I would never do that and if I did he certainly would have more than a black eye. In fact, he'd probably be in the hospital." She looked at each person, but none seemed to believe her innocence in Grissom's little injury.

Grissom was getting tired of everyone thinking Sara would do that to him. He looked at them and noticed that they seemed to not believe that Sara didn't hit him. For the sake of shutting everyone up, and getting on with work, and due to the fact that Catherine would probably spill the beans once he and Sara left the room, he decided to just tell them the truth. "Okay, everyone, listen…Sara _did not_ hit me. She—"

Sara cut him off. "This drunk guy was attacking me, Grissom showed up and pulled the guy off me and the guy hit him a couple times. I was attacked, Grissom saved me, the asshole's in jail…end of story."

Everyone, except Catherine, was a bit shocked by the story for a minute. Nick was the first to recover and asked, "Are you okay, Sara?"

"I'm fine," she answered with a smile.

"Is there anything else you guys want to know? Or can we get to work?" Grissom raised his brows and looked at each member of his team. They all seemed to shift back into work mode and sat waiting expectantly for the night's assignments. "All right, Warrick and Nick, you got a dead body at the Roll On Inn. Brass is there waiting for you. You should get going."

Nick jumped up and eagerly grabbed the assignment slip. "It's about damn time we got something interesting! I'm driving!"

Warrick followed him out of the room moaning about getting carsick when Nick drove.

"Greg, how are things in your lab?" Grissom asked.

"I have absolutely nothing to do," he answered in an unexcited tone.

"Well, then…would you like to join Catherine in working a B&E?"

That question cheered him up. "Grissom, I would give you my first born to get out of this lab for a little while."

"You don't have to go that far. A nice fresh cup of Blue Hawaiian would suffice."

"You can have all you want. I just made a fresh pot."

"Come on, Greggo, we better get going before Grissom changes his mind," Catherine said as she gathered her things and left the room.

Grissom let out a chuckle as he watched Greg bounce excitedly after Catherine. He heard her yell at him to calm down as they made their way down the hall. He still had an amused grin on his face as he turned back around and looked at Sara. "Alone, at last."

"It appears so," Sara said. "I take it we have no scene to go to."

"We have something else to attend to. Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Depends on where we're going."

"How does the morgue sound?"

Sara let a smile grace her features. "You sure know the way to a girl's heart."


	7. 7

Thanks for the reviews

Thanks to Lady Kes

**_The morgue_**

Grissom and Sara made their way to the morgue walking side by side, their shoulders occasionally bumping. Grissom held the door open for Sara as they entered the room to see Doc Robbins quietly sipping a cup of coffee. He looked up when he heard them come in. The shocked expression on his face didn't go unnoticed by Grissom and Sara. He looked at Grissom for a second, looked to Sara and then back to Grissom. He looked like he wanted to say something, but it appeared he couldn't form the words. Sara knew what he was thinking and quickly spoke up. "I know what you're thinking, Doc. I wasn't the one who hit him."

"It wouldn't have surprised me if you were." He finally found his voice.

The fact that everyone thought Sara was the one to inflict his injuries was starting to bother Grissom. It also bothered him that they seemingly felt he deserved it if she had been the one to hit him. He pushed that aside for now. He needed to sweet talk the coroner into a big favor and he still had no idea how to do that. "I hear the last few days have been slow, Doc."

"That they have, Gil. But things are usually dead here anyway," he responded, a small smile forming on his lips.

Grissom let out a little chuckle and said, "Coroner humor, it kills me."

"Well, then it's a good thing we're already in the morgue," Sara remarked. The three of them took a moment to laugh about the conversation.

"So, what brings the two of you down here?" Doc asked.

Grissom and Sara shared a look before Grissom answered, "I need a favor, Doc."

"Okay…"

"I need a big favor. And the three of us are the only ones who can know about it."

"Did you kill somebody?"

"No."

"Okay, what's the favor?"

"Before I tell you that you have to promise that what I say doesn't leave this room. It is extremely important that you keep this a secret."

"I promise, Gil. Now before you give me an aneurysm, tell me what's the favor."

Grissom looked to Sara for some form of reassurance before he gave Doc Robbins all the details. She gave him an encouraging smile and a wink. He turned back to the coroner and took a deep breath. "Okay, Sara and I found two bodies buried in the desert just outside of Rachel. As we uncovered the bodies we discovered that they weren't human. We were trying to figure out what to do when these two FBI agents showed up. They said they investigate paranormal phenomena and things like that. They convinced us that we couldn't tell anyone about what we found, and for some strange reason…" he gave Sara a dirty look to which she smiled "…we volunteered to help them. So, we helped them transport the bodies to Vegas in the hopes that you would let Agent Scully, who is a medical doctor, perform autopsies on the bodies. So, what do you say, Doc?"

Doc Robbins didn't know whether to believe him or not. He looked back and forth between Grissom and Sara waiting for one of them to say April fools or something that would prove this was all just a joke. Grissom seemed to be totally serious and was anxiously waiting for him to say something. "What did you two dig up, Bigfoot?"

Sara chuckled. "What would Bigfoot be doing in the desert? They live in the mountains," she said, with all seriousness.

"A vampire? A werewolf? The Loch Ness Monster? What did you dig up?" Doc asked, very curious.

Grissom took a deep breath and letting it out said, "Aliens."

Doc Robbins gave him and incredulous look. "Aliens?"

"I know it's hard to believe, Doc."

"Have you two been drinking or taking drugs?"

They answered in unison, "No."

"I can see that you have a black eye. Did you also receive a head injury?"

"No. Look, I know how this sounds. I'm a scientist; believe me it's hard to believe. But that's why we need your help. We need to let Agent Scully perform autopsies on these bodies so we can scientifically prove what these things are."

"Why can't they just take them to the FBI labs?"

"They said something about government conspiracies and hiding the truth. It's a really long story," Grissom said.

Doc Robbins sat and thought for a moment. "I'll do this on one condition: I get to be in the room and oversee the autopsies. This is something I have to see with my own eyes to believe."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Grissom said, relieved.

"I'm going to go call Agent Mulder and tell him it's a go," Sara informed as she made her way out the door.

Grissom thanked the coroner and was on his way out the door when Doc Robbins called his name. "Yes, Doc?"

"Gil, you owe me big time."

"I know." Grissom left and went in search of Sara.

Sitting alone in the room, Doc Robbins asked himself, "What did I get myself into?"


	8. 8

**Grissom's office**

Sara made her call to Agent Mulder and went in search of Grissom, finding him in his office. She leaned against the doorframe and knocked softly on the open door. Grissom quickly looked up. "Hey. Did you talk to Agent Mulder?" he asked.

"Yeah, they should be here soon. We're supposed to meet them outside," she informed him.

"Good. The sooner we can get this over with the better."

Sara walked into the office, closing the door behind her, and took the seat across from Grissom. She had an apprehensive look, which didn't go unnoticed by Grissom. "Sara, is something wrong?" he softly asked.

She sat wringing her hands for a moment. She finally spoke up, "I just…all of a sudden I got this uneasy feeling about this whole thing. I can't put my finger on it, but I just…" she trailed off.

"Feel like something bad is gonna happen." He finished for her.

"Yeah. It's a little unsettling," she said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I know. I had the same feeling when we were in Rachel. After what happened in the parking lot, I thought that was why. But when that feeling didn't go away…well, I'm a little worried."

Knowing that she wasn't alone in her feeling of imminent doom put Sara at ease a little. The fact that Grissom shared his feeling—or any feeling at all for that matter—cheered her up some. She let out a sigh of relief and looked at her watch. "Care to walk a lady to the parking lot?"

"If you're the lady, it would be my pleasure," he answered with a twinkle in his eyes. He received a full-blown smile.

Without another word they left Grissom's office and made their way to the parking lot.


	9. 9

Thank you Lady Kes

Thanks for the reviews

**The morgue**

The CSIs along with the FBI agents quickly and quietly brought the bodies into the morgue. Grissom felt like he was stuck in an episode of _Mission: Impossible. _They had to keep an eye out for people and make sure the coast was clear before proceeding.Several times they had to duck behind cars so they weren't seen. Grissom was physically and mentally exhausted by the time the bodies were safely in the morgue and on the autopsy tables.

"Dr. Robbins, I'd like you to meet Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully," Grissom introduced them.

"Nice to meet you," Robbins said, shaking their hands. "Gil, you didn't tell me how lovely Agent Scully is."

"Sorry, Doc. I didn't think you'd care."

"It would have been nice to know I'd have a beautiful lady here doing autopsies. I would have cleaned up a little."

"You see a beautiful lady every day," Grissom said, pointing towards Sara, "and you never clean up for her."

"Yeah, Doc. What's that all about?" Sara teased.

"I'm sorry, Sara. Seeing you every day, I take your beauty for granted."

"It's okay. You're forgiven," she said, while patting his shoulder.

"I don't mean to sound rude, Doc. But can we get down to business here?" Grissom asked.

"Sure thing. It's only a matter of time before David comes in with a body," Robbins stated. Turning to Scully he asked, "Would you prefer I assist you or would you rather double team it and examine both bodies at once?"

"It would probably be a better idea to do both at once if you don't mind," Scully responded.

"Not a problem, Agent Scully. Let's get down to it then."

Dr. Robbins gave Scully a quick tour of where everything was. They gathered the instruments they would need to perform a thorough autopsy and each quietly set about their tasks.

Grissom and Sara watched Robbins as he unzipped the body bag. They both wanted to see the look on his face. Astonished would have been the best word to describe his expression when he finally looked at the corpse. Grissom and Sara shared an amused smile.

Robbins looked at the three observing him and Scully. He didn't like people looking over his shoulder as he worked, so he felt the need to shoo them out of the room. "You three should probably wait outside. This will go a lot quicker without an audience and somebody should probably stand guard at the door to make sure no one comes in."

The CSIs knew not to argue with the coroner, so they left the room with Mulder right behind them.

Grissom and Sara took their guard positions by the door. Sara leaned against the wall to the right of the door, while Grissom occupied the space to the left. Mulder began slowly pacing back and forth in front of the door.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, Mulder asked, "How long do you think this is gonna take?"

"As long as it takes," Grissom answered. He was about to go in and check on the progress when his phone rang. "Grissom."

_"Grissom, where are you? Greg and I are back from our B&E. No one around here seems to have a clue as to where you and Sara are," _Catherine's frustrated voice came through.

"Did you gather any evidence at the scene?"

_"Yeah."_

"Well, start processing it. Sara and I are busy. We'll be around in a little while. Don't let Greg wander too far. We may need him to run a few tests for us."

Catherine let out a frustrated sigh. _"Okay, I'll see you later."_

Grissom ended the call and put his phone away. He cast a quick glance at Mulder then turned to Sara saying, "I'm gonna go in and see what kind of progress they're making in there."

Mulder and Sara both nodded and Grissom entered the room.

-

"How's it going, Doc?"

"I am fascinated. I have never seen anything quite like this. It's mind blowing, really." His fascination was evident in his voice.

"What about you, Agent Scully?" Grissom asked the FBI agent.

"From what I can tell these bodies seem to be real. I cannot believe this. We may finally have proof—real alien bodies," Scully said with a look of amazement on her face. "I've taken a few samples that I'll need to run tests on, but I think they'll only prove that these bodies aren't human."

The scientist in Grissom was starting to become curiously excited. _Sara was right. This is a great scientific discovery, _he thought. "Do you agree with Agent Scully, Doc?"

"I'm pretty damn sure this isn't a human body," he said.

"Well, when you're done here, Agent Scully, I'll take you to the lab so you can run those tests." Grissom said.

"I'd say we're done here. We've pretty much seen all we need to see," she said. "We should wrap these bodies up and get them out of here before we do anything else. I have no idea what we're going to do with them, but we can't keep them here."

"All right, I'll go get Sara and Agent Mulder," Grissom said.

Grissom walked out the door and immediately returned with the pair. Grissom helped Scully wrap one body, while Sara assisted Dr. Robbins with the other. Mulder kept an eye on the door.

Scully stuffed the samples in her pocket and thanked Dr. Robbins. Sara checked to make sure they would not be seen before they moved the bodies back to the truck. Returning the corpses to the truck was a much easier task than moving them to the morgue had been. There were no people around like there had been earlier. So they placed the bodies in the truck and quickly locked it up. Once everything was safe and secure, the four let out a collective sigh of relief.

"So, now what?" Sara asked.

"Agent Scully needs to run some tests. She'll have to use Greg's lab. Sara…"

"Yeah?"

"Maybe you should go charm Greg. Tell him we need his help and that it needs to be a secret. If he asks questions, I guess you can tell him some part of what we're doing…if you think he can keep a secret."

"Can we trust this Greg guy?" Mulder asked.

"Sure we can," Sara answered.

"He has a crush on Sara, so if she asks home…or threatens him, I'm pretty sure he'll keep quiet. If that doesn't work I could always threaten to fire him," Grissom said, his lips twisting up during the last sentence.

"All right, I'll go find Greg and we'll meet you in your office," Sara said to Grissom.

He nodded. "Okay."

They entered the building and went their separate ways. Sara went in search of Greg, while the FBI agents and Grissom headed to his office.


	10. 10

Thanks for the reviews 

Thank you Lad Kes

Notes: Since I live in an alternate universe…and for the sake of this story, let's just pretend that Krycek never lost his arm.

**_Parking lot_**

****

The FBI agents and CSIs didn't notice a man hiding in the shadows as they set about their task. He stayed hidden watching their every move. He sat unmoving, earphones on and a high-tech listening device in hand. After he watched the group enter the building he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"Mulder and Scully are in Las Vegas. They found those bodies near Rachel. They've teamed up with a pair of the Vegas crime scene investigators."

_"Where are the bodies now?"_ a cold voice asked.

"They're keeping them in an old truck. Right now the truck's in the parking lot of the crime lab. Do you want me to get the bodies?"

_"Not yet. I want you to keep an eye on them. Do you know who the people helping them are?"  
  
_"Yeah. Gil Grissom, the nightshift supervisor and Sara Sidle, one of his CSIs."

_"I understand you've formed a relationship with one of the nightshift investigators?"_

"Yes, Catherine Willows. She's been very helpful in learning about her co-workers. She likes to gossip."

_"Good. Our plan seems to be working fine. For now keep an eye on them, but from a distance. We wouldn't want Mulder and Scully to see you. It would spoil the game."_

"What do you hope to accomplish with all this?"

_"You'll soon find out. All in good time, Alex."_

Alex Krycek ended his call. He quickly looked around. There was no activity in the parking lot so he slipped out of the shadows and made his way down the road to his car. He hopped in the convertible and once again placed a call.

The phone rang three times before he heard, _"Willows."_

"Hey, Catherine. I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I was just wondering if I could see you after your shift."

_"That depends. How much of me do you want to see?"_

He chuckled. "All of you."

_"Well…I think your chances of seeing me after work are pretty high."_

"Come by my place after you get off. I'll make you breakfast."

_"I was hoping to get off after I got to your place."_

He chuckled again. "Catherine, I better let you go. I need to get some rest before you arrive."

_"You do that. I'll see you in a few hours, Chris."_

"See you then." He pushed the end button and threw the phone in the passenger seat. He looked around one more time before driving off into the night.


	11. 11

_**Back in the lab…**_

Sara was searching from room to room but failed to locate the spiky-haired lab rat. She had searched the building top to bottom, inside and out with no sign of him. She was about to page the elusive young scientist when she saw him walking down the hall.

"Hey, Greg! Can I speak to you for a sec?"

Greg Sanders would never turn down an opportunity to be in the presence of Sara Sidle. He tried to hide his excitement and in a dull tone answered, "Sure." He looked at her expectantly.

Sara glanced around the hall and looked at him. "In private, Greg."

"I knew you'd come around eventually. Not many women can resist the Sanders' charm," he joked.

Sara flashed him a full smile and said, "You do tend to grow on people." Greg gave her a shy smile and she continued, "Can we please find a private place to talk?"

"Sure thing. Follow me."

They walked side by side through the halls until they reached the DNA lab. Being a gentleman, and wanting to sneak a look at her rear, Greg held the door and waved Sara in before him. He closed the door behind him and asked, "So, Sara, my sweet. What do you need to talk about?"

"I need a favor, Greg," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Exhilarated by the touch, Greg looked at the hand on his shoulder and then back into those brown eyes he loved so much. "Sara, I'll do anything for you."

"You don't even know what it is yet."

"I have a pretty good imagination," he said, winking at her and waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Sara chuckled and asked, "Can you keep a secret, Greg?"

"Of course. I would keep all your secrets, my dear."

"Grissom and I need your help."

His mood changed. The excitement left his voice. "Grissom?"

"Yes. Grissom and I. You have to swear on everything you hold sacred that you will not tell anyone about this," she said in a serious tone.

"I promise I won't tell anyone whatever it is you don't want me to tell them. I swear on my lab and my music and my hair and my future as a CSI." He placed his right hand over his heart and put his left hand in the air with three fingers up. "Scout's honor."

"You were never a boy scout."

"It doesn't mean I don't have honor."

"All right, then…"

Sara filled him in on what the favor was. He was asking a lot of whys, so she decided to give him a quick rundown of what she and Grissom had been doing these past couple of days. He stood there listening with a disbelieving look on his face, not totally buying what Sara was selling. She finished up her story with the autopsy findings. Greg looked at her for a few minutes trying to decide if she was pulling his leg. He then glanced around the room looking for hidden cameras. Looking at Sara once again he asked, "Aliens? For real?"

"It seems so. But that's why we need you to help Agent Scully do those tests."

"What do I get out of this?"

Sara knew that question was coming. "You get to help. It's a wonderful scientific discovery."

"I need something more."

"Grissom said he wouldn't fire you if you helped."

"He'd never fire me…he loves me. I'm like the son he never had."

"You're like the son he never wanted."

"I'll do this but only if you go out with me after work."

"Greg…"

"Not as a date. Just to hang out."

"Okay, deal." They sealed it with a handshake.

Sara started to leave but stopped and turned to face Greg again. "If you speak a word of this to anyone…I promise that they'll never find your body."

"Got it."

Sara left the room and headed for Grissom's office.


	12. 12

Thank you Lady Kes 

Thanks for the reviews

**_Grissom's office_**

****

Sara knocked on Grissom's office door and entered when she heard, "Come in."

"Did you find Greg?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah. Took me forever to track him down. He said he'd help and keep quiet," Sara informed.

"How many threats did it take?" Grissom asked, with a serious but teasing tone of voice.

"None to get him to do it, but I did tell him if he didn't keep quiet no one would find his body."

"That's my girl," Grissom said proudly. "Sounds like it was too easy. I figured he'd try to get something out of you."

Sara smirked and said, "Oh, he did. I have to go out with him after shift."

That seemed to upset Grissom a little. "What?"

Sara was pleased to see Grissom's reaction to Greg's one condition. Any other time she would have just left it at that, but seeing that her going out with Greg might bother Grissom, she felt the need to elaborate. "Not a date. Just to hang out. Greg doesn't know it, but I was planning on inviting everyone to come along."

He seemed relieved. "Good. We'd never be able to live with him if you went on a date with him."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that will never happen," Sara said, flashing Grissom a smile.

"Well, Agent Scully," Grissom said standing up, "shall we head to Greg's lab and get started?"

Rising out of her chair, Scully said, "Lead the way."

"Sara, you can keep Agent Mulder company. You can stay in here if you'd like." He walked to the door and turned saying, "Since you have nothing else to do, aside from entertaining Agent Mulder, try to get some paperwork done." And with that he and Scully left the office.

Sara let out a long sigh and walked around Grissom's desk to take the seat he had just vacated. She looked around the room for a moment before looking at Mulder. He seemed to be bored, sitting back in his chair playing with his tie.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Sara asked.

He looked up at her and smiled. "I would love a cup of coffee."

Sara stood and said, "Well, let's head to the break room and grab a cup. We can hang out there if you don't mind. It's more comfortable and not as creepy as this office."

Mulder looked around the room. "This office isn't so bad. I kinda like it."

"You're a strange man, Agent Mulder."

He chuckled and said, "I've heard that a lot. By the way, you can drop the 'agent'. Just call me Mulder."

"All right, Mulder, let's go get some coffee."

Mulder followed Sara out of Grissom's office and down the hall to the break room.


	13. 13

**_DNA Lab_**

Greg was rocking out to Metallica when Grissom and Scully strolled in. The second verse of _Enter Sandman_ was cut short when Grissom turned the radio off. Startled, Greg quickly spun around and gave an apologetic smile to the pair. "Sorry, Grissom."

"Don't worry about it, Greg," Grissom said. He patted Greg on the shoulder and continued, "Greg, I'd like you to meet Special Agent Dana Scully. Agent Scully, this is our favorite lab rat Greg Sanders."

Shaking Scully's hand, Greg said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Agent Scully."

"Nice to meet you, Greg. Please, both of you, just call me Scully or Dana," she said with a smile.

"Okay, Ag…sorry, Scully. How can I help you?"

"I need to run tests on these samples," she said, pulling the samples out of her pocket.

"What are these?" Greg asked, curiously looking at the items.

"These are tissue samples," she said, pointing to them, "and this is what I presume to be blood." She held up a vial of green liquid.

Greg shot Grissom a skeptical look. He looked back at Scully and said, "Blood? It's green."

Scully's brows went up at his statement of the obvious. "Yes, it is."

Greg was still and quiet for a moment. He seemed to be thinking, processing information. He quickly turned back into his excited yet somewhat serious, scientific self. "Well, let's get started, shall we?"

"Let's," Scully responded.

Grissom pulled up a chair and watched the pair get to work. Greg and Scully pulled on latex gloves and began to prepare the samples.


	14. 14

Thanks Lady Kes 

Thanks for the reviews

**_Break Room_**

****

Sara and Mulder were sitting at the break room table, a cup of coffee sitting in front of each of them. She was trying to do paperwork while chatting with the FBI agent.

"…I'm telling you, it was one of the most horrible, creepiest cases ever," Mulder was saying.

With a disgusted look on her face Sara said, "Remind me never to go there."

"They're not there anymore. I presume they skipped town. They could be anywhere."

"You're gonna make me never want to leave my apartment."

"The one funny thing about that case was the sheriff—his name was Andy Taylor."

Sara looked up from her paperwork and grinned. "No way."

"It's the truth," Mulder declared. "And he didn't carry a gun. His deputy was named Barney, too."

"Fife?"

Mulder chuckled. "No. I don't remember his last name, but I know it wasn't Fife. I asked the same question you did. From the guy's reaction, he probably got that question a lot."

"What are the odds that a sheriff named Andy Taylor would live in this Mayberry-like town, not carry a gun and have a deputy named Barney?"

"It was a bit strange," Mulder replied.

Sara couldn't hide her amusement when she asked, "Did Deputy Barney carry his bullet in his pocket?"

Mulder laughed at her question and said, "I believe he kept his bullets in his gun."

Catherine strolled in at that moment making a beeline for the coffee pot. She didn't acknowledge the pair sitting at the table. Sara looked up and watched her as she breezed in and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Hey, Cath, working hard or hardly working?" Sara asked.

"Working hard. Is it just me or has this been a long night?" she responded without turning to face her colleague.

"It does seem like it's dragging along," Sara agreed.

"What are you up to, Sara?" Catherine asked while turning around.

"Just paperwork." Sara noticed Catherine looking back and forth between her and Mulder, trying to figure out who he was. Sara figured she should introduce them. "Catherine Willows, this is Fox Mulder. He's a friend of mine."

Mulder stood to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Willows."

"Please, call me Catherine," she said joining them at the table. Catherine discreetly checked Mulder out and then looked at Sara, giving her a look that said 'way to go, girl'. Sara gave her a small smile.

Catherine was about to start asking questions about Sara's 'friend', when Nick and Warrick entered the room. Like Catherine, both men headed straight for the coffee pot.

"Hey, Sara. Who's that woman with Greg and Grissom?" Warrick asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Please tell me she's single—she's hot," Nick put in.

"There's a hot woman with Greg and Grissom? No wonder I haven't seen Greg in a while," Catherine said.

"Come on, Sara. Do you know who she is?" Nick asked.

Sara looked at Mulder who just grinned at her and nodded. She answered her colleagues, "Her name is Dana Scully. She's a friend of Grissom and me. She needed a favor, so Grissom's helping her out."

"Is she single?" Nick asked hopeful.

"I really don't know," she responded, glancing at Mulder.

Warrick took a seat to the left of Sara, while Nick took the seat at the head of the table. Warrick leaned into Sara, whispering in her ear, "I don't mean to be rude, but who the hell is this guy?"

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is my friend Fox Mulder. Mulder, this is Warrick Brown and Nick Stokes."

The three men stood and shook hands and returned to their seats. Nick leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked back and forth between Sara and Mulder. He eyed Sara suspiciously and asked, "So, Sara, is Mr. Mulder here just a friend or something more?"

Mulder grinned and Sara glared at Nick. "That's really none of your business, is it, Nicky?"

"What do you think, Warrick?" Nick asked his friend.

Warrick shook his head saying, "Hey, man, don't drag me into this. I don't want Sara Sidle mad at me."

Nick wasn't deterred. "Catherine?"

"Nicky, sometimes it's good to just keep your mouth shut," Catherine said in a motherly tone.

Standing up, Nick said, "You guys are no fun. I'll see y'all later. I have evidence to process." Nick grabbed his coffee and left the room.

Downing the liquid that was left in his cup, Warrick stood and made his way to the door saying, "I better go keep an eye on him."

Catherine sighed and said, "I should get back to work, too." Catherine lazily walked out of the break room. She seemed to be in no hurry to get back to work.

When Catherine disappeared in the hall, Mulder looked at Sara and said, "Wow! I didn't mean to scare off your friends."

"You didn't. They were just disappointed that they couldn't get any personal information out of me."

"Mysteriously private, are we?"

"No mystery. I just like to keep my personal and professional lives somewhat apart. My personal life is my business and if I want to share it I will."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes, though, it's hard to separate the two. Especially if you're very close to one of your co-workers."

"You mean Agent Scully?" Sara asked.

Mulder smirked. "Actually, I was thinking about you and Grissom."

"There is no me and Grissom. He's my boss, nothing more." Sara stated.

"I don't know about that, Sidle. I've seen the way he looks at you. I saw how worried he was about you the other night. He cares a lot about you." Mulder's voice had taken on a softer tone.

"I'm sure he cares about me as an employee. Just like he cares about everyone here. He wouldn't want to lose a good CSI…that's why he was worried."

Mulder noticed a hint of sadness in her voice as she spoke. He had a gut feeling that he was right. He would bet money on the fact that Grissom cared about her a whole lot more than just an employee. "I think you're wrong. Sure he cares about you for the reasons you said. But you didn't see the look on his face when we couldn't find you. As an outsider, I can assure you he has feelings for you."

"As an insider, I can assure you he doesn't," Sara huffed.

"You care a lot about him, too," Mulder noted.

Sara shook her head in disbelief of this conversation. "What are you now, Oprah or something?"

"Hey, don't knock Oprah. She's a great lady."

Abandoning her paperwork and giving Mulder her full attention she said, "Okay, then, Jerry Springer. Let's turn the tables here. What about you and Scully?"

"We're partners."

"Just partners?"

"We're also very good friends." Mulder realized he deserved the grilling. _Turn about is fair play, _he thought.

"Nothing more?"

He smiled. "Shouldn't we be in an interrogation room?"

"Someone prying into your life isn't that much fun, is it?" she teased.

"Okay, okay. No more insights into your non-existent relationship." He put his hands up in surrender.

"Thank you," she said, flashing him a smile. After a minute of silence she said, "You seem to be a very perceptive man."

"How do you figure?"

"You were right about one thing, but I'm not gonna tell you what it was. I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own."

They both were quiet for a while. Sara continued with her paperwork, while Mulder stared at the wall in thought. After several more minutes passed he looked at Sara. He let out a little sigh and quietly said, "Scully and I are close, very close. She's all I have. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. She's the only person in this world who I really trust. I care very deeply for her."

Sara looked up at him a little shocked by his confession. "You didn't have to tell me all that."

"I know I didn't have to—I just felt like saying it to someone. I've never really told anyone that."

"Not even Scully?" she asked, abandoning her paperwork once again.

He looked down at the table slowly shaking his head. "Nope."

"Don't you think you should tell her?"

Looking back at her he said, "I'm sure she knows."

"Yeah, but it's always nice to hear from a person how much they care about you." Sara smiled at him sweetly.

"That's true. Maybe you should listen to yourself, Sidle." Mulder returned her smile.

"What do you mean?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her and said, "Tell Grissom how you feel about him."

"Yeah, like that would accomplish anything," she huffed. "He would totally freak out."

"He may freak out, but at least he'd know. You wouldn't have to carry it around anymore."

Sara shook her head. "It's not that easy."

"Why not?"

Sara sat for a minute trying to decide whether or not to tell Mulder anything. It seemed weird to her, but she felt like she could talk to him and trust that he would keep it to himself. She had never really felt that with a person she barely knew. _Too bad he's in love with Scully, _Sara thought. For a long time she had felt the need to talk about this with someone, but never had anyone who would just listen and not try to tell her what to do and how to feel. _What the hell, _she thought, and began her explanation.

"We used to be friends. We had a lot of fun working together. We'd tease each other and flirt. But then something changed. He started to push me away, treat me like shit. Every now and then he'd pull me back in and for a very little while it would be like old times. Then his other personality would show back up and he'd barely acknowledge my existence. He'd only speak to me when he absolutely had to. It's a horrible thing to be someone's personal yo-yo. One day I told myself, 'just go for it, Sidle. Ask him out.' So I did. I asked him if he'd like to have dinner with me. He said no. I persisted saying, 'let's have dinner, let's see what happens.' To which he responded, 'Sara…I don't know what to do about this.' So I was shot down and I never asked again. I've been nothing but professional towards him. The yo-yoing has continued and I've spent this past year trying my best to forget about him—to get over him. It's a hard thing to do when you care about someone so much."

"He's a damn fool, Sidle. I don't know him that well, but I think you may be too good for him," Mulder said with a teasing quality to his voice in an effort to lighten her mood.

"He is a fool," Sara agreed, "but I'm not too good for him. We're too much alike…maybe that's the problem."

"I think he's afraid of you." At Sara's questioning look he continued, "Afraid to let you in. He's probably afraid of getting hurt. Most guys would be with a smart, beautiful woman like you."

"If that's true, then it's just stupid. I have the same fears. I've been nothing but loyal to him from day one. He needed my help with an investigation and with one phone call I was here. He asked me to stay and I dropped everything—my whole life—to come work for him. I was going to leave once, but he managed to get me to stay. Now I wonder if it's worth it. Career-wise, I'm as far as I'm ever gonna go here. I have no life at all. Sometimes I feel like getting the hell out of this place and starting over somewhere new. But then I realize running away isn't going to make my feelings disappear. I'll still feel that pain and sadness. No amount of distance is gonna get him out of my heart. So I figure why not stay here. It may hurt like hell, but at least I get to see him every day. And I'm doing the work I love at one of the best labs in the country. So it seems misery will be my life for now."

"It doesn't take much to get you to open up," Mulder teased.

"It's weird. I usually wouldn't open up to anyone like that, let alone someone I hardly know. I just feel like I can trust you."

"You _can_ trust me."

"It's also nice to be able to talk to someone without worrying about it becoming office gossip."

"I know what you mean. Hey, any time you feel the need to talk, give me a call. I'm a good listener."

"Same goes for you." They shared a smile.

Mulder looked down at his empty coffee cup. He grabbed it and stood and asked, "Need a refill?"

"Yes, please and thank you," Sara said, sliding her cup over to him. She grabbed her pen and got back to her paperwork, while Mulder went to refill their cups.

(Meanwhile, out in the hall, Grissom stood frozen with his mouth hanging slightly open. He had a look of shock on his face and had been in that position since he had overheard part of Sara and Mulder's conversation while walking down the hall. He had heard Mulder say, 'tell Grissom how you feel about him.' He had froze at that moment and hadn't moved since. He had heard everything that Sara had said and he didn't know what to think. Finally coming to his senses, he realized standing in the hall looking like an idiot wasn't a good idea. The sanctuary that was his office seemed to be calling him. He hurriedly made his way there.)


	15. 15

Thanks for the reviews 

Thank you Lady Kes

**_Remember to fight for Jorja and George. Letters, emails and phone calls._**

**_DNA Lab_**

****

Several hours later, Scully sat patiently waiting for the test results, while Greg impatiently paced around the room. Every now and then he'd stop to work a little. Thankfully it had been a very slow night, which meant that not too many people had come into the room. Nick had come in once to drop off some evidence and Warrick had come in a little while later to see if there were any results on it yet. Scully was about to try to calm down the seemingly frazzled lab tech when the printer pushed out a piece of paper. Greg quickly grabbed it and looked at it puzzled.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said.

"What is it?" Scully asked. She got up from her chair to stand beside him.

"This says that the sample matches no known substance. Maybe the machine is broken. There has to be something that it would match."

"I think it is what it is—an unknown substance. If it is from a real alien, who's to say that their made of the same stuff we are."

Greg looked at her confused. "You're telling me that those bodies are real aliens?"

"I would like to say that they could be explained as something else, but from what I'm seeing here…they can't. With all of my training and background, I'm certain that those bodies are the real deal."

"Do you have any idea what the implications of this are? This is gonna change everything."

"Yes, it would change everything if people were to find out about it. We're still a long way from that happening."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked. He was starting to become more nervous.

Scully didn't want to add to his apparent nervousness, but felt she needed to tell him the truth. "Do you have any idea how dangerous this information is to have? What the government will do to keep people from finding out about it? This whole situation just became more hazardous."

Greg didn't know what to think. Scully was starting to scare him. "So, what do we do?"

"We keep quiet. I need to find Mulder and talk to him," Scully said. She grabbed the test results and the samples and turned to smile sweetly at Greg. He tried to return the smile, but it barely shown through the worry on his face. "Greg, I don't know my way around this place and I'm afraid I'll get lost. Would you mind helping me find my partner?" she asked sweetly.

"Sure. He's probably either in Grissom's office or in the break room. Follow me."

He held the door for her as they stepped out into the hall and went in search of Mulder.

**_Meanwhile… In Grissom's office_**

****

Grissom was sitting in the same position he had been in since taking his seat behind his desk. He sat leaning forward, elbows on his desk with his face in his hands. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there like that, but he really didn't care. Sara's conversation with Mulder kept replaying through his mind.

'_We used to be friends…He started to push me away, treat me like shit…It's a horrible thing to be someone's personal yo-yo…I've spent this past year trying my best to forget about him—to get over him. It's a hard thing to do when you care about someone so much…I have the same fears…He asked me to stay and I dropped everything—my whole life—to come work for him…No amount of distance is gonna get him out of my heart…It may hurt like hell, but at least I get to see him every day…So it seems misery will be my life for now.'_

Her words invaded his mind causing a battle between his heart and mind. He had hurt her. He knew that he had. He never meant to but it seemed like he couldn't help it. He had never really realized how much he had hurt her until he heard those words. She did nothing but try to care about him and he did nothing but cause her pain. He realized this had to stop. He either needed to give her what she—and he—wanted and needed, or let her go completely. It was a realization that scared the hell out of him.

**_Break Room_**

****

Mulder looked up and smiled as Scully and Greg entered the room. Greg went to the coffee pot, while Scully stood near the doorway. Mulder got up and went to stand in front of Scully. She grabbed his arm and pulled him in closer and whispered, "We got the test results."

"What did they say?" he asked anxiously.

"Mulder, I can't believe I'm saying this, but those bodies are real aliens. No substance in this world matches those samples. There is no way to tell what they are…whatever those bodies are made of, it doesn't exist on this planet."

"So, what you're saying is we finally have proof?"

"Yes."

"This is great!"

"Yeah, it's great, but do you realize what having this proof means. We're not safe. No one that knows about this is safe. We've put Grissom, Sara and Greg's lives in danger. We shouldn't have dragged them into this," she said worriedly.

"I'm starting to think that we were meant to run into Grissom and Sara. I'm getting that feeling of being stuck in the middle of someone else's game."

"Here we go. I was wondering when you were going to get to all this being a conspiracy."

He gave her a disapproving look. "It was just too easy, Scully. Grissom and Sidle were called out to investigate dead bodies in the desert. We show up, convince them to go along with us and we manage to get the bodies all the way back to Vegas with no hassle."

"What are you saying, Mulder? That they are in on this? That they work for your so called shadow government?"

"No. I think they were just trying to do their job. Doesn't it seem strange to you that none of the local authorities in Rachel seemed to give a damn that there were two dead bodies out there? In normal small town America when two dead bodies are found people would care and maybe worry that there was a murderer running around town. The sheriff didn't seem to care and neither did any of the citizens of Rachel."

"So, the whole population of Rachel, Nevada is in on this conspiracy?"

"I don't know, Scully. But Area 51 is right there close. Maybe they all do work for the government or maybe there's some kind of code of silence. Maybe they've been warned to keep quiet about anything that might happen around there."

"Mulder, do you realize how insane you sound?"

"Then you explain it, Scully," he said, beginning to become frustrated.

"I can't explain it. All I know is what we found and that we have to warn Grissom and Sara that their lives may be in danger."

Mulder thought for a second and looked over at Sara and Greg, who were sitting quietly at the table. He knew Scully was right—they were all in danger. He suddenly felt guilty for asking for their help. He didn't mean to put their lives in jeopardy. He would feel horrible if something happened to them because of him. They were kind enough to help him and Scully and he realized he had to warn them, maybe even protect them. "You're right, Scully. We need to tell them."

"Well, we should talk to Grissom first, tell him everything. And then he can help us tell those two," Scully said, tilting her head towards the pair at the table.

"Seeing as how she discovered the bodies with Grissom—and due to the fact that she's helped us from the start—I think Sidle should be there, too."

"Make yourself a new friend, Mulder?" Scully asked. She was teasing him trying to lighten the mood.

"Actually, yes I did. I like her she's smart, funny and…"

"And?" Scully raised an eyebrow.

"And from what I can tell she's a wonderful and caring person."

Scully smiled and said, "Do you have a little crush on her, Mulder?"

"I would if I could, but my heart belongs to another," Mulder said in an overly dramatic voice.

"Your heart belongs to your work."

"And where does your heart belong, Agent Scully?"

"In my chest."

Mulder chuckled. "Good answer." He let out a sigh and said, "Okay, we should get this over with. I just hope they don't wind up totally hating us."

"I wouldn't blame them if they did," Scully said honestly.

Mulder nodded at Scully and walked over to Sara. She looked up as he approached and smiled at him. "What's up, Mulder?"

"Scully and I need to speak with you and Grissom in private."

"Sounds serious," she said.

"It could be."

Sara quickly began to gather up her papers and files, stacking them into a pile. She downed the rest of her coffee and picked the pile up and said, "I don't know where Grissom is. I haven't seen him in a while, but he's probably in his office."

"Lead the way," Mulder said, stepping aside to let her by him. As she walked in front of him he couldn't help but notice how nicely she filled out a pair of jeans. Scully caught him looking and just shook her head. Mulder grinned sheepishly as he and Scully followed Sara to Grissom's office.


	16. 16

**_ Grissom's Office_**

****

It was almost the end of shift and Grissom had been sitting alone in his office for hours, all of them in the same position: with his elbows on the desk and his face in his hands. He was starting to realize the effects of being in the same pose for hours—his back was starting to hurt. He figured though that he deserved the pain for the way he had treated Sara. Sara…the one constant thought on his mind. He needed to talk to her. He needed to apologize to her and beg her for forgiveness. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair and finally sat back in his chair. He was just about to page Sara when he heard a knock on his door. He tried to compose himself before he said, "Come in."

Sara slowly opened the door and came in, with the FBI agents right behind her. She held the door for them and shut it once they were all in the room. Sara walked around to stand beside Grissom's desk and the agents sat down after Grissom had asked them to have a seat. Grissom gave Sara a 'what the hell is going on' look to which she just shrugged. They turned their attention to the silent, somewhat guilty looking federal agents and looked at them expectantly. "What's going on? Did you get your test results?" Grissom asked.

"Yes. I can say without a doubt that those bodies aren't human. That's one of the reason's we came to talk to you," Scully said.

"What's the other reason?"

Mulder looked to Scully for some reassurance before answering, "With the proof that we have, this whole situation has just become a whole lot more serious."

Sara furrowed her brows and asked, "How serious?"

Mulder glanced at Scully again. "Serious, as in--your lives are now in danger."

Grissom's expression and tone of voice did nothing to betray his worry. "Care to explain?"

"There are men who will do whatever it takes to make sure this evidence doesn't see the light of day. They will stop at nothing to bury the truth, to make sure the world will never know it. I'm sorry we got you involved in this. I can assure you, though, that we will do everything we can to protect you…if you need it," Mulder said. He took a deep breath and tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Grissom sat trying to process the information. He slowly turned his head to look at Sara. She looked down at him and was shocked that he let her see the slightest glimpse of fear in his eyes. He turned back to the agents and asked, "Are we the only ones in danger? Or is everyone at the lab in danger?"

"Since the only other people who know about this are Dr. Robbins and Greg…I'd say that it's just the four of you and us," Scully answered.

"Oh, well, that's a comfort," Sara said sarcastically.

"I don't want you to get too worried. We could just be overly paranoid. We don't know," Mulder said.

"That's the problem—you don't know. What are we supposed to do? Go into hiding?" Grissom's anger was starting to build.

"Just be careful, watch your back. If you go out make sure there's a lot of people around. Try not to go anywhere alone." Sara smiled slightly at Mulder's words. Of all the people in the world to be told not to be alone, it had to be her and Grissom. The two most private, solitary people, now--for their own safety--had to be in the company of someone. The universe definitely had a sense of humor.

"This is just great," Grissom said frustrated. "I'm gonna have to tell Greg and Dr. Robbins. Would you two mind giving us a minute alone?"

"Sure thing," Mulder said. He and Scully got up and left the room.

After the agents closed the door behind them Grissom turned to Sara. "Sara, can you go round up Greg and meet me in the morgue? We might as well tell them both at the same time."

"Okay." Sara walked towards the door.

"Oh, and Sara," Grissom called. She turned to face him. "I'd like to thank you for getting us involved in this."

Sara looked at him for a second. He didn't sound very angry. He almost sounded like he was teasing. "You're welcome," she said, as she turned and exited the office.


	17. 17

Thanks for the reviews 

Thanks Kes

Very short chapter…the next one will be longer

_**The Morgue**_

****

Sara and Greg sat with Dr. Robbins waiting for Grissom. Greg kept asking Sara what this was all about. He wanted to know for sure, but he had a pretty good idea what the reason they were here was. Sara just told him that Grissom would tell them when he got there. Grissom finally arrived and delicately told the pair about the FBI agents' concerns for their safety.

Robbins didn't seem to be bothered much by the information. Grissom had apologized several times for dragging him into this situation, but the coroner told him there was no need for apologies. Greg, on the other hand, seemed to be very distressed by the news. He sat with a frown looking down at the floor. Sara felt bad for Greg and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, Greggo?" she softly asked.

He sat up a little straighter and lifted his head. "I'm fine. This is all just a little unsettling."

"Hey, shift's just about over. How about we get the hell out of here and go get a couple drinks?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a real good idea. Where do you want to go?" he asked, quickly returning to his usual excited self.

"How about Unwound? It's a nice quiet little bar…not many tourists."

"Yeah, okay. Would you mind if I invited everyone else to come along? For some reason I feel like having a lot of people around me right now."

"I don't mind, Greg," Sara said. She didn't bother to mention that she was planning on inviting everyone anyway. "Hey, Griss, we're all gonna meet at Unwound after shift. You and Doc are invited to join us."

"Do you think it's a good idea to go out?" Grissom asked.

"It's gotta be safer than going home alone," Sara responded. "Come on, Greg. I'll call us a cab. After the last few days I've had…I don't plan on being able to drive home." Grissom looked up sharply at her. She smiled at him and stood, helping Greg up with her. She put her arm around Greg's shoulders and walked him to the door and out of the morgue. Grissom watched them go and secretly wished that it were him that Sara had her arm around.

Once Sara and Greg had disappeared, Grissom turned to the coroner and asked, "So, Doc, will you be joining us for drinks?"

"I think I'm just gonna head home. You're actually going to go out for drinks with them?" he asked surprised.

Grissom shrugged. "Yeah."

"Well, have fun."

"Thanks. I'll see you later, Doc." Grissom left the morgue wondering to himself how he was going to hide the fact that he was only going to the bar to keep an eye on Sara. He had to make sure she was safe.


	18. 18

Thanks Kes

Thanks for the reviews

****

****

**_Unwound_**

****

Unwound was a nice little bar off the strip. It was a perfect place for locals to hang out without worrying about tourists. They always had several customers no matter what time of day, but it never got too packed. It was a place where you could go to unwind and not worry about being bothered. You could dance or sing or just sit at the bar and chat with the bartender. They played every kind of music, which was a pleasure to the wide variety of patrons. A biker sat next to businessman at the bar, while a group of cowboys sat at a table next to a couple of baggy-pants-wearing Eminem wannabes. The bar also had a pool table, where Warrick and Nick were currently waging a battle. In the back of the room, at one of the long wood tables, Sara sat between Greg and Mulder on a bench. On the other bench across from them were Catherine, Scully and Brass.

After the waitress had brought their first round of drinks to them, Brass took a sip of his beer and said, "So, Sara, I hear you beat up Grissom."

Sara started to giggle and almost choked on her beer. "Where did you hear that?" she asked, shooting Catherine a suspicious glance.

"Hodges."

"Man, I am gonna kick his little weasel ass. I didn't beat up Grissom. I never touched him…didn't lay one finger on him," Sara said, a hint of anger in her voice. But then she smiled a little, realizing that she did touch him and laid more than a finger on him. _They sure as hell don't need to know that, though, _she thought.

"I can vouch for Sidle," Mulder cut in. "She didn't hit Grissom. He was trying to protect Sidle and he got in a little fight with some drunk asshole."

Brass smiled at Sara. "Grissom was trying to protect Sara? I wish I could have been there to see that."

"Yeah, me too," Catherine chimed in. "I just can't picture Grissom fighting."

"Well, you know, Catherine, when someone you lo—care about is in danger, you're capable of doing just about anything to protect them." Brass winced. He had almost slipped and said love. And from the look on Sara's face she caught his little blunder.

Sara suddenly felt the need for something stronger than beer. She stood, chugged down what was left in her bottle and quickly walked to the bar. She took the first empty barstool she saw and ordered a shot of tequila. She tossed it back and ordered another. She sensed someone sit down beside her, but didn't acknowledge whoever it was. She tossed back her second shot and ordered one more.

"Long night?" a familiar voice asked.

She spun her head around and looked right into a pair of blue eyes. She tried to fight it, but that damn smile just came out without permission. "Long week."

"So, do you come here often?" Grissom asked.

"Only when I need to unwind," Sara replied, downing her tequila.

"Isn't it funny that a bar named Unwound would be a great place to unwind?"

Sara chuckled. "I never really thought about it." Sara gave Grissom a quick once over. He had changed since he left the lab. He now wore blue jeans and a dark blue polo shirt. _Damn look at those arms, _she thought. "How about a beer, Griss?"

"Sure."

Sara waved down the bartender. "Hey, Roy, can I get nine bottles of Bud?"

He winked at her and said, "Coming right up, sweet thing."

Grissom shot the bartender a dirty look, which dissolved when he caught sight of Sara's amused smirk. Roy set the drinks and the bar and Sara said, "Put in on my tab." He nodded and she and Grissom grabbed the bottles and carried them over to their friends at the table.

Mulder and Greg had teamed up to try to beat Nick and Warrick at a game of pool. Brass sat watching the boys play. Catherine was making small talk with Scully.

"Anyone ready for another round?" Sara asked, as she and Grissom set the ice-cold bottles of beer down.

"You must have been reading my mind, girl," Catherine said, while grabbing a bottle.

Sara took her seat on the bench and Grissom took Mulder's empty spot next to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine saw the two CSIs sitting, both comfortably and uncomfortably, next to each other. _Only those two could be both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. _She smiled a little and continued her idle chitchat with Agent Scully.

The boys' game ended with Warrick making the winning shot. Nick let out a woo-hoo and gave Warrick a high five. As they all made their way back to the table, Greg was swearing up and down that he saw Nick cheat. Mulder agreed with him and Warrick shook his head at them saying, "You guys are just sore losers."

Mulder grabbed an empty chair and sat at the head of the table near Scully. Nick grabbed another chair and took the other end of the table. Greg was about to return to his seat on the bench next to Sara when Warrick playfully pushed him out of the way and sat down. He whined for a minute about not having anywhere to sit, but then figured there was enough room on the bench for four people. He pushed Warrick over a little and tried to sit. He needed a little bit more room so he nudged Warrick a little more, smashing him into Sara, which caused Sara to be pressed very closely up against Grissom. They all had a place to sit, but they could hardly move. Warrick turned a little with the intention of putting his arm around Sara so he would have a little more room, but he changed his mind when he realized that someone else had already put his arm around her. Warrick turned and looked at Greg and hesitantly placed his arm around Greg's shoulder. Greg stiffened and looked at him saying, "What the hell are you doing, man?"

"Chill out. I'm not trying to put the moves on you. I'm just trying to be able to drink my beer," Warrick said, taking a long swig of his Budweiser.

"Why don't you put your arm around Sara, then?" Greg asked, worried that the ladies in the bar might get the wrong idea.

"Hey, if it bothers you that much, you can always find another place to sit."

Nick was sitting comfortably in his chair watching Warrick and Greg. He had the biggest grin on his face. "So, how long have you two been dating?"

"Man, that's it!" Greg jumped up and went to look for another empty chair. Warrick, Nick and Brass laughed at him.

Warrick slid over to give Sara some more room. Sara went to scoot over, but the hand that had been on the small of her back grabbed one of her belt loops to keep her in place. She froze. She had figured he had just put his arm around her to have more room, but now she didn't know what to think. She wanted to turn to look at him, to see his eyes, to know what he was thinking, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She wondered what had gotten into him—someone was bound to notice how close they were sitting.

The waitress came around to see if were ready to make another order. Warrick ordered them all another round of beer, while Sara excused herself to go to the restroom. Greg having no luck finding an empty chair quickly took Sara's vacated seat. Greg was baffled as to why the bar was so full on a weekday morning. _This is Las Vegas. When does anything make sense here, _he thought. Sara returned from the restroom to find that she had nowhere to sit. Being a gentleman, Mulder stood and offered her his chair. She declined and he insisted. "It's okay, Mulder. I'll just stand for a while."

Mulder smiled at Sara and looked over towards the dance floor, where several couples were dancing to a Sarah McLachlan song. His eyes landed back on Sara and he said, "Well, if you're gonna be on your feet…you might as well be dancing." He held out his hand. "Shall we?"

Much to Grissom's dismay, Sara placed her hand in Mulder's and replied, "Okay, but if you try to make a move I won't be responsible for my actions."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Mulder teased.

"Try and you'll find out," she shot back. Mulder led her to the dance floor and pulled her a little too close for Grissom's liking. They began to move to the music and Grissom could no longer watch. He decided that trying to tear the label off of his beer bottle seemed a better thing to do. He became engrossed in tearing the paper off the glass without ripping it, but hearing Sara giggle made him abandon his task and look at them again. Mulder leaned in and whispered something in Sara's ear, which caused her to giggle again. He thought about cutting in, but with half the lab here he figured it wouldn't be such a good idea. Imagine the office gossip if he and Sara were seen dancing in a bar after work.

Mulder and Sara continued to sway to the music. Mulder pulled Sara a little bit closer and she gave him a serious look and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make those two jealous," he whispered in her ear.

"What two?"

"Grissom and Scully," he said, as if it was obvious.

"Ah, I see. Jealousy—a great motivation. You're trying to further your relationship with Scully, while helping me to further my non-relationship with Grissom."

"You know, Sidle, if my heart didn't already belong to someone else…I'd run away with you."

"Yeah, and if my heart didn't already belong to someone else, I'd go with you."

"We're hopeless," Mulder said as the song ended and they stepped back from each other.

Sara looked across the room at Grissom and saw a look of despondency on his face. "Nah. I think there's some hope for us yet," Sara remarked as they made their way back to the table. Mulder pulled out his chair for Sara and she thanked him before sitting. He knelt down in front of Scully and asked, "You about ready to go, Scully?"

"Yes. I'm exhausted. I just want to go to the hotel and sleep for a couple days," she answered, slowly rising to her feet. Mulder stood next to her.

"We're gonna get going. It was nice to meet you all. Grissom, Sidle, if you two need _anything _don't hesitate to call," Mulder said.

"Thanks, Agent Mulder, Scully," Grissom replied.

"Yeah, and if you two ever need anything, don't hesitate to give us a call," Sara put in.

After several 'goodbyes' and 'it was nice to meet yous' and handshakes, the FBI agents quickly made their way out of the bar.

Catherine sighed and started to gather up her purse and coat. "I should probably get going, too. I have some things I need to do. Warrick, Nick, you guys still need a lift, 'cause the bus is leaving."

"Yeah, Cath, I'll just go pay our tab and meet you outside," Warrick said, while slipping on his jacket. Catherine and Nick went outside to wait for Warrick, who was fishing in his pockets trying to find his wallet.

"Go ahead and go, Warrick. I'll pay the tab," Grissom stated.

"That's a big tab, Griss. Are you sure?"

"Hey, how often do I go out with you guys? Never. So, please let me pay. Consider it a sign of appreciation for all your hard work and dedication."

"Okay…see you guys tonight." And with that Warrick was gone.

"So, Grissom, you're paying, huh? I guess that means we can get smashed on the good stuff," Greg joked.

To everyone's surprise Grissom said, "Order whatever you want, Greg. Cheap, expensive, bad, good, whatever…I'm paying."

"In that case, I'll have a Margarita. I'm headed to the bar, you guys want anything?" Greg was beginning to feel a bit tipsy.

"I'll have another beer," Grissom said.

"Sara?"

"A shot of tequila and another beer, Greggo."

"Brass?"

"Nothing for me, kid. I need to get home and crash. You three have fun, though." Brass grabbed his jacket and headed for the door, while Greg skipped over to the bar.

Greg returned with their drinks and the three of them sat and chatted about unimportant things. They discussed movies and music and the latest episodes of _Forensic Files. _They people watched and commented on human behavior. Hours had passed and it suddenly hit Sara that this was a strange situation. Here she was sitting in a bar with Greg and Grissom, drinking and talking and having a pretty good time. The strangest thing was that Grissom seemed to be really enjoying himself. At the moment he was in a friendly argument with Greg about which band was better—The Who or The Doors. It didn't look as though anyone was going to win this argument. Greg was saying that Jim Morrison was a musical genius, while Grissom was disputing that The Doors couldn't even compare to The Who. Sara smiled at the two men. It was nice to see them in a conversation where Grissom wasn't annoyed by the young man.

A few more drinks later, Greg was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He kept nodding off and almost fell off of the bench once. Sara decided that it was time for the young lab rat to go home, so she asked the bartender to call him a cab. Grissom helped her carry him outside and put him into the waiting taxi. Sara paid the driver and gave him directions to Greg's place.

Sara started to stagger back into the bar, when Grissom gently grabbed her by the arm. "Maybe you should head home, too."

"I think I need another drink first," Sara slurred.

"Don't you think you've had enough? You're drunk." Grissom gave her a concerned looked.

She tilted her head and smiled. "I'm not exactly drunk."

"You're not exactly sober, either."

"Okay. I'll go call a cab and go home, boss."

"I'll drive you home, employee."

Sara laughed. "You know, Grissom, you're funny when I'm drunk."

He grabbed her by the elbow and led her back into the bar. "I thought you weren't exactly drunk?"

"Well, I didn't exactly tell the truth."

"Sara Sidle lied. I'm a little disappointed in you," Grissom teased.

"What else is new?"

Grissom ignored her comment as he gave the bartender his credit card. He quickly singed the receipt and thanked the bartender. He wrapped his arm around Sara's shoulders and guided her to the door. They stepped back out into the bright Nevada sunlight and strolled to Grissom's truck. He let go of Sara and helped her get in. He ambled around to the driver's side and took his seat behind the wheel. They were soon on their way to Sara's apartment.


	19. 19

Thanks Lady Kes

Thanks for the reviews

Kes said to blame her for the delay, but you can blame real life. It took me a while to write and it took her a while to beta. The good news is it's almost over…just a couple more chapters.

**_Sara's Apartment_**

Grissom parked outside of Sara's building and turned the engine off. He quickly got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and helped Sara out. She started to stagger to the building and seemed to be having a lot of trouble walking. Grissom, not wanting her to fall or anything, once again put his arm around her shoulder and walked her to her apartment. At her door, she fumbled with her keys, so he gently took them from her and unlocked her door. Leaving him standing in the doorway, she walked into her home and flipped on the light. She took her jacket off and threw it on a chair and then hoisted herself up on her kitchen counter. "You gonna come in, or are you going to stand in the hall all day?" she asked, some of the slur gone from her words.

Grissom entered her apartment and closed the door behind him. He walked over to stand a few feet in front of Sara and quietly looked around the place. He noticed that the place didn't seem to be lived in. It didn't have a homey feeling to it. It felt more like a pit stop—a place where one would go to eat, take a shower, change clothes, maybe even catch some sleep—before returning to the real place they called home. It was in that moment that Grissom realized just how much time Sara spent at the lab. She'd work doubles, triples, days off, holidays…she would always be the one to cover for someone. The lab was her home.

Sara broke his thoughts saying, "I know it's not the greatest of places, but it suits me just fine. I don't spend much time here anyway."

Grissom looked at her. "How can you spend much time anywhere when you're always at work?"

"You're one to talk," she huffed. "I'm rarely there when you aren't there. We both spend too much time at work."

"We should change that. We both need to get a life," he said, more to himself than to her.

"Not that speech again. If you're gonna start lecturing me, I need another drink."

He took a step closer to her. "No more lectures and no more drinks, Sara."

"No more lectures…I like that idea," she said, smiling at the thought of never having to hear another one of his speeches.

His lips twisted up a little and he said, "I thought you would."

Turning serious she asked, "Can I ask you something, Grissom?"

He swallowed nervously and nodded saying, "Sure. Go ahead."

"Why did you kiss me?"

He hadn't expected that question. Well, maybe he had expected that question, but he had hoped she wouldn't ask it. "I…well…because…you were…there…so close…and I just…couldn't resist you…I really wanted to…kiss you…so I did." _That didn't come out as bad as I thought it would._

She hopped down off the counter and took a step closer to him. She had a mischievous smile on her face when she said, "I was so close you couldn't resist me, huh?" She took another step closer. "That's always good to know. Do you think you could resist me now?" she teased, taking another step towards him.

"Sara…" Their bodies were very close now.

"Come on, Grissom. You like experiments. So, let's experiment a little. Let's see what it'll take to get you to kiss me

again."

"If you weren't inebriated, I would be happy to experiment with you," he said, taking a step back. "You've been drinking and I don't think it would be a good idea to do anything like that. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you sure are." She took another step forward and he took another step back.

Grissom eyed the door and thought about bolting. "Sara, we have a lot we need to talk about when you sober up."

"Like what?"

"I'd prefer to discuss it later."

"I'd prefer to discuss it now. If you're gonna say that kissing me was a mistake and that you regret it, I want to know now."

"No, it's nothing like that. I don't regret kissing you, Sara. It was something that I had wanted to do for a very long time."

"So, what do we need to talk about?" she asked, walking past him and through the living room. She leaned up against the wall next to the window, turning her back to him and looked outside.

He watched her. "We need to talk about…this…" Though he couldn't see much of her face, he saw her raise a brow. He continued, "…this thing between us."

"There's a thing between us?"

"Sara, please can we talk about this later? I want you clear headed when I talk to you."

"Grissom, come here," she said in a demanding voice...

"Sara…"

"Grissom, come here quick. There's some guy out there checking out your truck."

Grissom was by her side in a second. He looked out the window and saw the suspicious guy looking underneath his Tahoe. They watched the guy try every door, but they were all locked. "We should call the police," Grissom whispered to Sara, as if the guy could hear them.

"I think we need to call Mulder and Scully. This could be someone coming after us. Hey, it looks like he just put something underneath your fender." They watched as the mysterious man reached behind the front tire and seemed to be doing something. He fiddled around for a minute and then stood. He looked around carefully before pulling out his cell phone and walking away.

"Sara, call Agent Mulder right now. I'm going to go see what he did to my truck," Grissom said as he walked to the door.

Suddenly more sober, Sara said, "Grissom, do you think that's a good idea? He could have put a bomb under there. He could still be out there waiting for you to come out. What if he tries to do something to you? What if there is a bomb and I stand here and watch you get blown up right in front of me?"

"Then you'd finally be rid of me," he joked. The look on Sara's face told him this was no time for jokes.

"Grissom, I'm serious. Please don't go outside. Please just stay in here with me. If something happened to you and I saw it…I would just…it would kill me."

The fear he saw in her eyes made him rethink his decision. He nodded at her and returned to her side. He watched her as she placed the call to Mulder. She seemed calm, but as she ended her call he noticed her hands shaking. He took her phone from her and set it on the windowsill. He gently grabbed both her hands and turned her around to face him. She wasn't looking at him. She still had her eyes glued on the view outside. "Mulder and Scully should be here soon," she quietly informed him without looking at him.

"Sara, are you all right?"

"I'm-"

"Don't say you're fine," he cut her off.

She looked at him and gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm worried, Grissom. I really didn't think too much about our lives being in danger until now. And that feeling that something bad is gonna happen is still there."

He gently pulled her into a hug. She was a little shocked at first, but after a moment she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Whether he was toying with her emotions again or not didn't matter, right now she needed his comfort. She drew strength from his embrace and she burned this hug into her memory. He held her close and sighed into her hair, which caused shivers to run down her spine. He turned his head, bringing his lips close to her ear and whispered, "Sara, we're gonna be fine." She knew he was just talking about what was happening now, but she could also detect a deeper meaning in those words. _We're gonna be fine,_ she told herself.

Sara held him a little tighter. "I hope so. I don't want anything to happen to us." It was Grissom's turn to detect a double meaning.

"Sara, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

"What about you?"

"I was hoping you would protect me," he said.

She pulled her head back and smiled at him. He didn't return the smile. He was focused on how close their bodies were. His eyes were locked on hers and his control was rapidly fading away. Very slowly he moved his lips closer to hers. Just as his lips brushed hers there was a knock on the door. They both quickly stepped away from each other, like they were high school kids caught making out. There was another knock on the door and a muffled sounding, "Sidle, are you in there? Are you okay?"

Sara swiftly made her way to the door and opened it. "You guys got here quick. Come on in."

Mulder and Scully entered the apartment and stood looking at Sara expectantly. "So, what's going on? You said something about a guy messing with your car?" Mulder asked.

Sara told the agents what she and Grissom had witnessed. She gave him a description of the guy and asked him if he thought this might have something to do with his concerns for their safety. "I don't know if this guy was working for _them. _I'm gonna go have a little look at Grissom's truck and check around the building and parking lot," Mulder said as he made his way to the door.

Grissom started to follow him. "I'm coming with you. If we find any kind of evidence I want it handled properly."

"You're the expert." Mulder shrugged.

Mulder disappeared into the hall and just before Grissom closed the door he turned to Sara saying, "Sara, lock the door until we get back." She nodded and did just that.

==

Grissom and Mulder walked to Grissom's truck while discreetly scanning the lot. There seemed to be nothing suspicious going on. There were no people around, which wasn't such a strange thing since most people were at work at this time of day. The pair cautiously approached the vehicle. Grissom's heart rate had kicked up to about 300 beats a minute. Mulder, on the other hand, seemed to be totally calm and collected. "What did the guy mess with?" Mulder asked Grissom as the stood in front of the truck.

"Driver's side, underneath the front fender," Grissom answered.

Mulder pulled out his flashlight and crouched down next to the front tire. He couldn't see much so he decided to crawl underneath. He stood and took off his jacket, throwing it on the hood.

"What are you doing?" Grissom asked.

"I'm going to crawl underneath here and get a better look," Mulder replied.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? There could be a bomb under there."

"We'll never know if we don't look," he said. Kneeling down, he looked back at Grissom and said, "If there is a bomb under here and I do blow up, tell Scully I…" He shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind." He lay down on the ground and wiggled his way underneath the vehicle.

Grissom smirked as he watched the agent. He knew what Mulder wanted to say. _If I die tell Scully I love her. _It might have been what Grissom would have said to Mulder if he thought he might die. _If I die tell Sara I love her. Wouldn't that just be fitting, _he thought. _The only way Sara would know that I love her was if someone else told her. _Grissom's thoughts were broken as he heard Mulder say, "Ah-ha! I got it."

As Mulder crawled out from underneath the truck Grissom asked, "What did you find?"

Standing up, he held out one gloved hand, which held a small black electronic gadget. "A tracking device, I presume. Doesn't look much like a bomb."

"Why would they want to track me? I never go anywhere. I'm either at the lab, a crime scene or home."

"I don't know. Why don't we check the rest of the lot and the building and then we'll go back to Sidle and Scully and figure out what to do about this," Mulder suggested.

Grissom nodded. "Okay."

==

Meanwhile, back inside the apartment, Sara was nervously pacing back and forth in front of the window. She would stop every few minutes and look out the window and then resume pacing. "What is taking them so long?" Sara asked, frustrated.

"I'm sure they're fine. Knowing Mulder, they're probably checking every nook and cranny. He's very thorough," Scully said, trying to put Sara at ease.

They both fell silent again. Sara had stopped her pacing and stood staring out the window, with Scully right beside her. They heard a small creaking noise and turned to look at each other, sharing a worried look. They heard a louder creaking noise and turned in the direction it came from. Both froze as they saw a man wearing a ski mask, pointing a gun at them. "Well, if it isn't my lucky day. Sara Sidle and Dana Scully without their two big protectors around. I'm shocked they left you two here alone. Of course, I know you can both take care of yourselves. And Scully if that hand gets any closer to your gun, Sara dies," the man said.

Scully had slowly been inching her hand towards her weapon hoping that he wouldn't notice. No such luck though and she pulled her hand away putting it up in the air. "Who are you and what do you want?" Scully asked.

"You know what I want. I want what you found in Rachel. I want the proof that you and Mulder have hidden away."

"You want the proof so you can destroy it. That's not gonna happen this time, too many people already know."

"Who do you think you're trying to fool? You think I can't get to Robbins and Sanders? I got to the rest of you, didn't I? I know every move you've made from the beginning of this thing. You're all just pawns in a game. We set this all in motion. We knew exactly what you were going to do. The four of you teaming up…it was all part of the plan. We knew Mulder couldn't resist this and we knew that Sidle and Grissom would be too curious to not help you out. You're all so predictable. That's your problem. You can't just let things go."

"Who the hell are you?" Sara asked angrily.

"I'm the man who's going to help you expose the truth."

"Oh, now you're on our side? Just a few moments ago we were all predictable pawns in a game and now you're gonna help us?" Scully asked.

"I'm tired of being maneuvered. I'm tired of taking orders. I want the control and I want to destroy that black-lunged son of a bitch," he said. He reached one hand up and quickly took off his mask.

"Krycek…I should have known," Scully said.

"Wait, Krycek? Aren't you Chris Bezich, Catherine's new boyfriend?" Sara asked, very confused.

"I have a different name for each personality," he joked.

"Mulder was right; this was all just a big ploy. What did you hope to accomplish with all this?"

"He wanted to discredit you, to ruin you. Those bodies are real, but if we don't act quickly they'll be gone. I know there are other people working on this. I don't know everything he plans to do, but I do know that if we work together we can beat him."

"Why in the hell would we work with you?"

"Because I hate him just as much as you do. I want to see him broken before I kill him."

"You expect us to believe you? To trust you? After all these years, what makes you think we'd do that?"

"If you don't, you're all dead. You know I'm capable, Scully."

"You're a liar and a coward, Krycek. If you want to kill me then go ahead. No one's stopping you."

"Um…I might have a little problem with that," Sara cut in.

Krycek reached into his jacket and pulled out a bundle of rope. He tossed it over to Scully and said, "Tie Sara's hands behind her back." Scully hesitated and he cocked the gun. "I will kill you." Sara turned around and let Scully tie her hands.

"I'm sorry, Sara," she whispered.

"It's not your fault. You're not the lunatic with the gun," she responded in a low voice. Scully finished tying her and the two women turned to face Krycek once again.

"All right, both of you on the couch now."

After they were seated on the couch, he walked up behind them and pulled out a bottle of chloroform and a rag. Combining the two, he placed the rag over Scully's nose and mouth. She started to make noise, but was soon out cold. It had all happened so fast that Scully was already out before Sara realized what was going on. She turned fearful eyes to Krycek and asked, "What the hell are you doing? I thought you wanted to help."

"I am going to help. Sometimes these two need a little incentive. That's why you're coming with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Okay, then. Do you want Grissom to die fast or maybe slow and painful? Because if you don't come with me, he's gonna die."

Sara swallowed hard and said, "Okay, fine. I'll go with you. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Don't worry. They won't leave you with the big, bad wolf for very long. I'm going to leave Mulder a little note and he'll find us soon." He placed an envelope on Scully's lap and walked over to Sara, pulling her up off the couch. "Now, we're gonna do this nice and easy. We're gonna walk out of here quietly. If you try to run, or yell for help, anything like that and your friends will die…starting with Grissom. You understand?"

Sara nodded. He put his gun in his belt and led Sara to the door. He opened the door and poked his head out, looking down the hall both ways. "The coast is clear. Let's get out of here before the boys come back." He led Sara to the stairs and down and out of the building. Grissom and Mulder were nowhere to be seen, so he pushed Sara into his car and they were out of there in a second.

==

After completing their search of the parking lot and building and finding nothing, Grissom and Mulder decided to return to Sara's apartment. They were both a little relieved that the only thing they had found was a tracking device. Halfway down the hall to Sara's door Mulder stopped walking and reached for his gun. Grissom shot him a curious look, but when he looked back towards Sara's door he noticed that it was open. A sense of dread flowed through him and he suddenly wished that he had his weapon on him. Mulder motioned for Grissom to walk behind him as he cautiously approached the open door. As much as Grissom wanted to rush into Sara's apartment to make sure she was okay, he knew to let the man with the gun enter before him. If something had happened to Sara, he would be no good to her if he had been shot or injured in some way.

Grissom waited to one side of the door while Mulder entered the apartment. He was waiting for Mulder to give him the okay to go in. Mulder had barely made it in when Grissom heard, "Oh, shit!" Grissom rushed in and found Mulder leaning over Scully. He was anxiously trying to wake her. "Come on, Scully. Come back to me."

Grissom quickly looked around the room. "Where's Sara?"

"I don't know," Mulder replied, still trying to wake his partner.

Grissom's heart rate increased instantly. He quickly searched the rest of the apartment, but Sara was not there. _This is not good. God, Sara, where are you? _Grissom made his way to the couch just in time to see Scully coming around. He noticed an envelope on her lap and asked, "Agent Mulder, what's that?"

Mulder looked down and went to grab the envelope, but pulled his hand back when Grissom let out a desperate, "No!"

Grissom reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. He slipped on the gloves and picked up the envelope. He carried it over to the kitchen counter and set it down. He let out a sigh before he gently opened it. He pulled out a piece of paper with a note on it. His face showed his anguish as he read the note.

I have Sidle. If you want her back, you'll have to come and get her. Don't come empty handed. You know what I want. If you take too long, she dies. If you call in the cavalry, she dies. If you try to pull any tricks, she dies. The three of you-no one else. There's a group of mailboxes on the north side of Lake Berryessa in California. There will be instructions for you underneath the last box on the left side. I'll give you until midnight to find me and then…well, you know what will happen if you don't get here in time.

Grissom let the note fall from his hand. He stood staring at the piece of paper not really seeing it. He never thought that he would be capable of murder, but the thought of killing the person who had Sara was on his mind. _I shouldn't have left her. How could I let this happen?_

Across the room, Mulder was still trying to get Scully fully awake. She would open her eyes for a second and close them again. Finally, she opened them and kept them open. "Scully, are you all right?" Mulder asked softly.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"What happened here?"

Suddenly remembering what had happened, she sat up a little straighter and looked around worriedly. "Where's Sara?" she asked.

"We were hoping you would tell us that."

Scully thought for a moment and said, "Krycek."

"Krycek? Are you sure, Scully?"

"Yeah. Sara and I were looking out the window when we heard a sound. We turned around and there was a guy wearing a mask standing there holding a gun on us." She pointed in the direction of Sara's bedroom door. "He said this was all a set up…that the four of us teaming up was all part of the plan. You were right, Mulder."

"This is no time for I told you so, Scully."

"He said he wanted to help us expose the truth, that he was tired of taking orders and that he wanted to destroy Cancer Man."

"So, he took Sara?"

"He made me tie her hands behind her back and then he made us sit on the couch. That's all I remember."

"Are you sure you're all right, Scully?"

"Yes. I just need a few minutes to get my bearings."

"Okay." He stood and walked over to the visibly distressed Grissom. "What was in the envelope?"

Startled, Grissom looked over at the FBI agent. "What?"

"I asked what was in the envelope."

"Look for yourself," Grissom said. He slid the note over towards Mulder.

"Should I put on some gloves or something?" Mulder asked while glancing at the paper.

Pulling off his latex gloves and slapping them down on the counter, Grissom said, "I don't really care." He walked past the agent and out of the apartment. In the hallway he leaned against the wall near Sara's door. He banged his head back against the wall a couple times before letting out a heavy sigh. _Please let her be all right. I will kill the bastard if he's hurt her. What if he kills her…no, no, no. Don't think like that. She's fine. This is Sara Sidle. She's a fighter. She doesn't give up. I can't give up on her. I have to find her. I can't live without her. Please let her be all right. _He ran a hand over his face and through his hair. He gathered himself and headed back into the apartment.

"How are we going to do this?" Grissom asked.

"What do you mean?" Mulder replied.

"Get Sara back."

"Scully and I were just discussing that," Mulder said. He and Scully both were now standing at the counter looking at the note.

Grissom walked over and stood with the pair. "Don't you think we should make a plan and get going?"

"We? Scully and I can handle this. There's no need for you to be involved."

Grissom's anger and despair was evident in his voice. "Oh, I'm involved. I've been involved from the beginning. I don't care what you say. I'm going with you. This guy has my--has Sara and I'm going to get her back. So, I suggest you decide a game plan on what to do and include me in it."

"Okay…We need to get the bodies. We need a plane and we'll need a truck once we get to California," Mulder said.

Grissom thought for a moment and then said, "I have a pilot friend who owes me a big favor. He also knows how to keep his mouth shut. Why don't you two go get the bodies and I'll call you and tell you where to meet me."

"Are you sure this guy will fly us?" Scully asked.

"He owes me a really big favor," Grissom replied heading for the door.

"Let's get moving then," Scully said. She and Mulder followed Grissom out of the apartment. Grissom locked Sara's door and they headed off to do their separate tasks.


	20. 20

_**Roland Ranch** _

Gil Grissom rarely--if ever--called in favors. Harold Roland didn't know much about his old friend, but that he knew. The two men stood next to a plane on Harold's private airstrip. Harold looked over at his friend, who was anxiously staring down the road that led to the ranch. He had no idea what this quick trip to California was about and he hadn't asked any questions. He did know that it had to be important for Grissom to ask for his help. He had already agreed to fly the trio before Grissom even finished asking. He turned his attention from his friend to the road and noticed a cloud of dust coming their way. "Must be your friends," Harold stated.

Grissom let out a sigh and said, "I hope so. We need to get moving fast."

"Well, I'm ready to get in the air as soon as they get here."

Grissom turned to his friend. "Harold, I can't thank you enough for doing this. You have no idea—"

"No need for thanks," Harold cut him off, shaking his head. "I owed you, remember?"

"Well, after this, we'll call it even."

Harold nodded and the two men turned to look at the truck coming up the road. In a minute the truck was parked next to the plane and the two FBI agents were hopping out. As they approached the two men Mulder asked, "So, is everything set?"

"Yes," Grissom replied. "Harold Roland, this is Fox Mulder and Dana Scully."

Harold shook Mulder's hand, then Scully's. "Nice to meet you."

"Are you two ready?" Grissom asked.

"Yeah. We just need to load our cargo and hit the road…or air…whatever," Mulder responded.

"Great. Let's get to it then," Grissom said.

Harold opened up the cargo compartment on his plane and then turned his back on them. Grissom had asked him to keep his mouth shut and look the other way, and that's just what he was going to do. Grissom and Mulder loaded the bodies on the plane and closed the compartment. Grissom, then, pulled Mulder to the side out of earshot of Harold. "I managed to have a truck waiting for us when we land. I also managed to find a little airstrip for us to land on that is not too far from Lake Berryessa."

"Damn, Grissom, you're good," Mulder said.

"This guy has Sara. I will stop at nothing to get her back."

"Okay, then, let's get in the air." Mulder gave Grissom a small grin as they walked back to the plane. He knew he was right about Grissom's feeling for Sara. And that last line from Grissom only proved what Mulder already knew. Grissom was in love with her…very much in love with her. She didn't know it and he didn't know it. But what he felt for her was definitely love.

"Are you three ready to go?" Harold asked.

"Yes," Grissom said.

Grissom and Harold climbed in the front seats of the plane, while Mulder and Scully took the seats behind them. Harold put on his headset and buckled up. He turned to the others and said, "Buckle up. You know that most people who die in accidents aren't wearing their seatbelts."

"That's a great thing to hear when we're about to take off," Mulder said, suddenly feeling a little nervous about flying.

"Yeah, and even if we did crash…this is an airplane. We're not likely to survive," Grissom stated. "So, really what's the point in wearing a seatbelt?"

Scully suddenly felt nervous too. "Mr. Roland, how long have you had your pilot's license?"

He started the engine and turned to her. "You mean you have to have a license to fly these things?"

Grissom let out a little chuckle and Harold said, "Don't worry, miss. I'll get you to California safe and sound, even if I have to get out and push."

"Thanks. That's comforting," Scully said sarcastically.

Harold turned back around with a huge grin plastered on his face. He loved to mess with nervous passengers. "Let's get high." The plane took off down the bumpy, dirt airstrip and lifted into the air just missing a barbed wire fence at the end of the runway. Harold made a wide left turn while gaining altitude and flew over his ranch as he aimed the plane west. "California, here we come."


	21. 21

Thanks Kes

Thanks for the reviews

**_California_**

Harold did manage to get the trio to California safe and sound. He landed the plane on a small airstrip that was used by the Napa County Fire and Sheriff departments. As Harold pulled the plane to a stop, a sheriff's deputy slowly began to approach. Harold shut off the engine as Grissom and the FBI agents hopped out.

"Are you Deputy Coe?" Grissom asked, coming to a stop in front of the officer.

"Yes, sir. You must be Gil Grissom?" he said, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Yeah," Grissom replied. Indicating the agents he said, "Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully."

Deputy Coe nodded a greeting to the pair. "We managed to get you a Suburban to use, Mr. Grissom. Sheriff Anderson was really sorry he couldn't come out here to meet you himself. He got tied up with some other business. He did tell me you're an old friend of his and to give you anything you ask for."

Grissom looked at the young deputy for a second before responding, "Thank you, Deputy. And please send my thanks to Sheriff Anderson…tell him I owe him one. All I need from you now is directions to the lake."

Deputy Coe motioned for them to follow him to his patrol car. He reached in the glove compartment and pulled out a map. Laying the map out on the hood, he pointed to a spot. "We're right here. Now to get out of here you just follow the dirt driveway down to the main road. Once you get to the main road you make a right." He moved his finger along the path. "Stay on that road until you get to Turtle Rock, which is not much more than a small store. There you'll take a right turn and in about a mile or two you'll see the lake. That road will take you all the way around this side from the south end to the north end. It's a pretty good drive around and once you get to the north end, there isn't much out there except a few ranches." He pulled a pen out of his pocket and marked the route for them before handing Grissom the map.

Grissom shoved the map in his jacket pocket. "Thank you, Deputy."

"No problem, Mr. Grissom." Deputy Coe reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card and handed it to Grissom. "If you have any problems, the station number is on that card along with my cell and the Sheriff's cell. The keys are in the Suburban. There's also a first aid kit, and a survival kit in there. I have a few things I need to check on. Do you guys need anything else before I go?"

"Go ahead and go. We're all set. Thanks again, Deputy."

Deputy Coe got in his car and started the engine. He put the car in gear and looked up at the trio. "See ya around." He gave them a little wave a drove off.

Grissom turned to the FBI agents and asked, "Are you ready to get going?"

"I was born ready," Mulder replied.

Scully walked over to get the Suburban, which was parked about a hundred yards away, while Grissom and Mulder went back to the plane. Harold opened the cargo compartment and walked away from the plane. He stood 20 feet away with his back to them as Scully pulled up in the Suburban. Grissom and Mulder loaded the bodies in the back of the truck. Grissom grabbed a duffel bag out of the plane and threw it in the back seat. Grissom closed up the plane while Mulder covered the bodies and locked up the back of the truck.

Mulder and Scully got in the truck while Grissom walked over to Harold. "We're all set," he said. "Thank you so much for your help, Harold."

Harold reached out and shook Grissom's hand. "No need for thanks. A friend asks for help, you help them." He shrugged. "Besides I owed you, remember?"

"Well, Harold, now I owe you."

"No, you don't, but believe whatever you want." He gave Grissom a friendly wink. "Now get going. I have to get home to Fern before she thinks I've flown off on her."

"Thanks, Harold. I'll see you around." Grissom gave him a small smile before he joined the FBI agents in the Suburban.

Harold watched the truck make its way down the dusty, dirt road until it disappeared and all he could see was a small dust cloud. _Good luck, Gil,_ he thought, as he began to check over his plane.

The ride around the lake was slow and quiet. It took longer to get around Lake Berryessa than Grissom had thought it would. It was a big lake and the two-lane road was narrow and very curvy. Maneuvering the big Chevy around the sharp turns took more skill and patience than Grissom had at this point. He had to pull over mid-journey to let Mulder take the wheel. Grissom relaxed a little after relinquishing the driver's seat. Soon they were at the row of mailboxes that Krycek had mentioned in his note. Mulder parked the truck next to the mailboxes and he and Grissom got out. They both looked around and couldn't find any residences that the boxes might belong to. Mulder reached under the last mailbox on the left and pulled back an envelope. He opened it up and quickly read the note before handing it to Grissom. The worry was evident on Grissom's face as he read the note.

Stay on this road for about twenty more miles. You'll see a driveway on the right side of the road with a wooden gate and a sign that says Diamond J Ranch. Follow that driveway until you come to a small cabin. I'll be waiting there. Hopefully you have what I want and I can return Sidle to you.

Grissom crumbled up the note in his fist and threw it on the ground. Mulder quickly picked it up and put it in his pocket. "If one hair is out of place on Sara's head, I will kill this guy," Grissom growled.

"And I'd be glad to give you a hand. This guy has been a pain in my ass for years."

"Let's just hurry up and get up there," Grissom said as he climbed back in the truck. Mulder gave a sad grin and hopped back behind the wheel.

If they thought the road around the lake was bad, then the road they were now traveling on was beyond horrible. It was a winding, one lane, un-maintained, abandoned stretch of asphalt and potholes. The first few miles were flat, but soon they were winding their way through and around the mountains.

Under any other circumstances this drive might have been enjoyable. The scenery was beautiful. The road winded along a small creek, which at times crossed over the road to run along the other side for a while. There were signs at the spots where the road and the creek met that said they were low water bridges, but there wasn't much bridge about them. They were basically just big blocks of concrete expanding the width of the water. The asphalt stopped giving way to the concrete for about thirty feet and then picked back up again. You had to be careful when driving over the low water bridges, there was at least four inches of water constantly running over them.

Any other time it would have been nice to see Mother Nature up close. Grissom couldn't remember the last time he had seen so many deer. Jackrabbits quickly hopped off the road in front of them. Squirrels scurried up trees. Every now and then there would be a snake inching across the road. He saw several coyotes running through a meadow. A few miles back he had seen a red fox sitting in the shade under an old oak tree. There were cows scattered here and there, lazily grazing in fields along the side of the road. Hawks and buzzards were soaring through the sky. Fish, frogs and turtles were swimming through the creek. It all added together to create quite a tranquil scene. If only he could feel that tranquility, things would be a lot better. But he couldn't enjoy anything until he had Sara back safe and sound.

Grissom was deep in thought when he felt the truck slow down. He came back to reality in time to notice a driveway up ahead on the right side of the road. Mulder stopped the truck in front of the driveway and Grissom looked that direction. "There's a wooden gate and a sign that says Diamond J Ranch," Grissom said.

"I guess this is it," Mulder said. "You guys ready for this?" He pulled out his gun and checked the magazine before putting it back in its holster.

"I'm more than ready," Grissom replied, while checking his weapon also.

Scully, too, checked her weapon and said, "Let's go."

Mulder pulled the truck up to the gate and Grissom got out and opened it. Mulder pulled through and Grissom hopped back in without closing the gate. Mulder drove slowly down the rough, dirt road, while carefully looking around. Scully and Grissom were doing their own searches of the hills surrounding the small valley they were now in. It seemed to Grissom like a dangerous place. They were like sitting ducks in this little valley. Anyone could be up in one of those hills hiding and just waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He quickly rid his mind of those thoughts and turned them to Sara. _I'm almost there, Sara. I hope you're okay. Please be okay._

The dirt road took a turn and wound up around a hill. When they reached the top of the hill they saw the small cabin sitting in the middle of an even smaller valley than the one they were just in. The valley was just big enough for the cabin, what looked like a small tool shed and a good-sized pond. Mulder navigated the truck down the small slope of the hill and stopped about fifty yards before the cabin. He turned off the engine and glanced back at Scully before looking over to Grissom. Grissom looked like he was about to explode. He glanced at Mulder and hurriedly jumped out of the truck. Mulder and Scully joined him quickly. They cautiously started to walk towards the cabin, but stopped in their tracks when they saw someone appear from the back of the cabin.

"Well, well. You're here a lot sooner than I expected. I guess Sidle is important to you," Krycek said. He walked towards them and stopped a safe distance from them.

Grissom's anger was evident from the look on his face. "Where is she?"

"Don't worry. She's fine. I just needed something, or someone I should say, to bargain with. I assume you have what I want."

"Yeah, it's in the truck," Mulder said.

"Good. We'll just put those bodies in my van and then you can have Sidle back."

"No," Grissom said. "I want to see her right now. They can show you the bodies, but I'm going to Sara now. Where is she?"

"Look--"

"No, you look!" Grissom pulled out his gun and pointed it at Krycek. "I want to see her. Now, where is she?"

Krycek swallowed hard. "Fine, Mr. Grissom. Go to her. She's in the cabin and like I told you she's fine. Just a little pissed off."

Grissom put his gun away and walked past Krycek and towards the cabin. Krycek turned slightly and kept one eye on Grissom and the other on the FBI agents. When it seemed safe that Grissom wasn't going to kill him at the moment, he turned his full attention to Mulder and Scully. "Let's get those bodies moved. And before you try anything, let me just inform you that I'm not alone. There are people watching us. You make one wrong move and you're both dead."

"You got me shaking in my boots, Krycek," Mulder replied.

Grissom entered the dark cabin and stood still for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The only light in the room was the fading sunlight filtering in through the small, dirty windows. He could make out the outlines of the furniture, but there didn't seem to be anybody in the room. "Sara, are you in here," he called out. He didn't hear a reply. He walked deeper into the room and noticed there were three doors and the far wall. He approached the first door on the left and called out again. "Sara!" He heard a muffled sound and quickly opened the door and rushed in.

There were more windows in this room--which was a small bedroom—so he could see a little better. He quickly scanned the room and saw her. She was gagged and tied to a chair in the corner. He rushed to her and dropped down to his knees in front of her. In the dim light he saw the fear and desperation in her eyes and he quickly untied the gag. "What the hell took you so long?" she asked, the corners of her mouth threatening a smile. _That's a good sign,_ he thought.

"I'm so sorry, Sara. I got here as soon as I could, believe me." He pulled out a pocketknife and cut the ropes that bound her arms. She rubbed her wrists while he cut the ties on her legs. He threw the ropes off to the side and she felt relief wash over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, while taking her hands in his. "If that guy laid one finger on you, I'll kill him with my bare hands."

"I'm fine. For a psycho, he actually treated me pretty good."

"I'd still like to kill him, or at least hurt him real bad." He gently rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her hands.

"Can you stand up?"

"I've been sitting in this chair all day. I can stand. In fact, I don't think I'll want to sit down for a very long time."

He gave her a small grin and stood, pulling her up with him. He held onto her hands to make sure she was steady on her feet. She squeezed his hands and said, "Thank you."

He gave her a confused look. "For what?"

"Coming to my rescue…again."

He let go of her hands and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his tighter around her waist. He moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "That guy had you, Sara. I had no choice but to rescue you. I was so afraid that I had lost you before I even had the chance to have you."

He couldn't see it, but Sara smiled a real big smile. "You have me, Grissom."

He pulled back so he could look in her eyes. "There's so much I need to tell you. So many things that I…"

She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. "We'll have plenty of time to talk later. Right now, I just want to…kiss you and go home."

He reached up and pulled her finger away from his lips. He placed a soft, gentle kiss on her forehead, her right cheek and then her left. His mouth hovered over hers for a moment before he closed the distance. It was a sweet, chaste kiss, but it held so much meaning. It was a promise of things to come. When they pulled back to look into each other's eyes, they were both a little stunned at what they saw. The usual pain, fear, sadness and uncertainty were replaced by hope, desire and love.

Sara smiled. "That's just what I needed. Now, let's get the fuck outta here."

Grissom returned the smile and nodded. He released his hold on her waist and grabbed her hand. He led her through the cabin and outside. Once they were outside on the porch, in the light, Grissom stopped and turned to get a good look at Sara. He was relieved that she looked fine. She could probably use a change of clothes and maybe a shower, but she seemed all right. He knew she was a tough, strong woman, but the last few days had proved that she was also extremely resilient. That was something about her that he had never really thought too much about—no matter what she would always make it through, bounce back and wind up twice as strong and determined.

"What are you thinking, Grissom?"

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to let you out of my sight again," he replied, gently squeezing her hand.

"Well, that could be a good thing," she said with a smirk.

He tugged on her hand and they started walking towards the agents and Krycek. "You're an amazing woman, Sara Sidle."

"You're just now figuring that out?" she teased.

"I've always known you were amazing. I'm just realizing how amazing you are."

"You're not so bad yourself…most of the time."

He released her hand as they came to a stop in front of Mulder, Scully and Krycek. Grissom stood extremely close to Sara, and they were both giving Krycek an evil glare. "Did you give him what he wanted? Can we get the hell out of here now?" Grissom asked.

"Not yet," Krycek replied. "There's something I want to show you."

"You wanted those bodies in exchange for Sara. That settles it. The deal's done. We're leaving now," Grissom said angrily.

"Not so fast, Mr. Grissom. This is something the four of you have to see."

Annoyed, Mulder said, "Why don't you just tell us what it is, Krycek?"

"It's the proof you want, Mulder. And I'd rather show you. It won't take long…I promise."

"Where is it?" Scully asked.

Krycek eyed the four of them. "It's just over that hill," he said, pointing over his shoulder to the east. "Just a quick little hike."

The four of them looked over Krycek and at the hill. It wasn't too big of a hill and didn't seem like it would take much effort to walk up it. It was mostly covered in grass except for near the top where there was a thick grouping of trees and rocks.

Mulder looked at his companions before responding. "Fine. I'll go with you." He looked over at Scully who reluctantly said, "Me too."

Grissom was clearly aggravated by the whole thing. He looked like he was about to explode into a fit of rage. Sara looked at him worriedly and said, "Grissom, let's just go with him. The sooner he shows us whatever the hell he wants to show us, the sooner we can leave."

Grissom looked at her, his demeanor softening. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Anyway, I could use a little exercise," she replied, trying to lighten up his mood.

"Okay."

"I could use some water before we go, though."

"Come on," Grissom said. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her over to the Suburban. He pulled the duffle bag out of the backseat and dropped it to the ground. He kneeled down and opened it up and searched through it for a minute before finally pulling out a bottle of water. He stood and handed the bottle to Sara. She flashed him a smile and took a nice long drink. He watched her and noticed the slightest hint of amusement in her eyes. She took another sip and put the cap back on the bottle and smirked at him.

"What?" he asked.

"What else you got in that bag, Mary Poppins?"

"You're awfully curious about what I keep in my bags."

"You're awfully secretive about what you keep in your bags."

"If you two are done flirting, can we get started?" Krycek asked approaching the pair.

Sara gave him another evil glare and nodded. "Let's go."

Krycek turned and walked back over to Mulder and Scully with Sara and Grissom closely behind. "Is it wrong that I want nothing more than to kill that guy at this point?" Grissom whispered to Sara as they walked.

"Considering the circumstances…I don't think it's all that wrong. I'd gladly hold him for you while you beat him up."

"You may get the opportunity."

They started their hike up the hill. Mulder and Scully led the way, followed closely by Grissom and Sara. Krycek wisely not trusting any of them, followed behind. They stopped midway up the hill to catch their breath and rest for a minute before resuming their ascent. Mulder weaved the group through the small bunch of trees at the top of the hill and came to a dead stop when he came to a clearing. His jaw dropped open as he saw what was before him. What appeared to be a crashed UFO was sitting in the valley below them. Scully, Grissom and Sara came up to stand beside him and the same shocked, unbelieving expressions appeared on their faces. Krycek walked around the group and said, "Glad you came along now?"

"Who knows about this?" Mulder asked.

"Not too many people, but the ones who know are already working on covering it up. I was sent out here to assess the situation, take care of any witnesses and properly dispose of the evidence."

"Why did you bring us here, Krycek? What is your agenda?"

"Like I told Scully, I want to see that son of a bitch broken before I kill him. If this were to get out, then all his efforts would have been in vain. You can only hide the truth from people for so long before they realize you're hiding something. I think it's time the world knew the truth and who's responsible for keeping it from them."

"What do you get out of all of this?" Scully asked. "There has to be some incentive for you."

"Revenge."

"Is that a real alien craft or is it just a secret government project?" Mulder asked.

"Oh, it's real. Go have a look for yourself."

Mulder eyed Krycek and the wreckage warily. He thought for a moment and then started down the hill with Krycek following him. Scully let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Grissom and Sara, then at Mulder before making her way down the hill.

Grissom and Sara stayed at the top and watched them walk down. They watched them until they reached the craft. When the agents began to inspect the craft, Grissom looked around and found a big log to sit on. He sat on the log, straddling it, and motioned for Sara to join him. She, too, straddled the log and sat facing him. He reached out and grabbed both of her hands holding them gently in his. He looked down at their hands as he tenderly rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her hands.

Sara had never seen Grissom like this. He was being so protective, tender and caring. And he seemed to be content just sitting there holding her hands. She squeezed his hand and softly asked, "Hey, what's going in that head of yours?"

He looked up and met her gaze. "I was just thinking about how I could have lost you without you ever knowing that I--"

The words died in his throat when he heard gunshots. He quickly pulled Sara down to the ground and half covered her body with his own. They heard several more shots and what sounded like the agents and Krycek running up the hill. Grissom pulled out his gun and flipped the safety off. They heard two more shots that were closer and were startled when Mulder and Scully dropped down the ground beside them.

"Are you two okay?" Mulder asked, while trying to catch his breath.

"We're fine. Are you?" Grissom replied. He moved from on top of Sara, but stayed extremely close to her.

"Yeah, we're okay."

"What the fuck is going on?" Sara asked. She was really pissed now. First this lunatic kidnaps her and now Grissom's just about to say something meaningful to her and gets interrupted by gunfire. _Couldn't they hold off shooting for like thirty seconds and let the man finish what he was gonna say, _she thought.

"I don't know what's going on. We heard the shots and thought something was happening to you two. I guess someone found out about all this," Mulder said.

Three more shots echoed through the hills. A minute later they heard a truck start and take off in a hurry. Soon after that they heard another engine start and the sound of tires peeling through the gravel. The sounds of the vehicle quickly disappeared and gave way to the returning sounds of nature. The four of them stayed on the ground for another twenty minutes listening for any kind of sound, but they heard nothing other than the sounds of the natural world. Feeling that it was safe, Mulder stood and dusted himself off and reached down to help Scully up. She quickly dusted herself off while Mulder helped Grissom and Sara get to their feet. Mulder looked around the area. "Where the hell is Krycek?"

"My guess…he was in one of those vehicles that were in such a hurry to get out of here," Scully said.

"Do you think it's safe to head back down to the cabin?" Sara asked.

"I'd rather take my chances going back down there than staying up here all night," Mulder replied.

All four looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They zig-zagged back through the trees and made their way back down the hill. The group was filled with a sense of unease as they reached the bottom of the hill and discovered that someone had taken the Suburban. Krycek's van, which had the bodies in it, was also gone and Alex Krycek was nowhere in sight.

Grissom walked over to grab his bag, which wasn't the only thing that had been left behind, he noticed. There were two bodies on the side of the road, about twenty feet in front of him. He set the bag back down and reached for his gun. "I got two bodies over here," he informed his companions.

Mulder rushed over to him. "Are they dead?"

"I was just about to check. Cover me." _Cover me? Now I sound like Brass. Next thing you know I'll be saying 'just the facts ma'am'._

Grissom cautiously approached the two bodies and knelt down. He checked each body for a pulse and didn't find one. He stood and turned to Mulder. "He's dead, Jim."

"Well, beam me up, Scotty. A little Star Trek humor can always lighten the mood, don't you think?"

Grissom let a little smile appear on his face. Grissom walked back over to Mulder and both men put their guns away. Sara and Scully walked over to join them. "We got a dead guy over by the tool shed," Sara informed.

"We got two dead guys over there," Grissom said, pointing towards the bodies.

"I wonder how many more dead bodies there are around here," Scully said.

"I'm more concerned with how we're going to get out of here," Mulder stated. "It's gonna be completely dark in an hour and I'm not particularly fond of the idea of walking out of here at night."

"Afraid of the dark?" Sara teased.

"I'll have you know, I fear nothing," Mulder replied, pretending to be appalled.

"Well, we may not have to walk out of here," Sara said. "Scully and I noticed an old Chevy pickup parked behind the cabin. Hopefully we can get it running and drive it out of here."

"That's very optimistic of you, Sidle. But what if we can't get it started?" Mulder questioned.

"Then we'll just have to work on it," she responded, flashing him a smile.

"We? I don't know anything about cars and I'm pretty sure Scully doesn't either."

"Well, then you can hand me tools."

The more time he was around Sara the more Mulder liked her. She was a very unique person and easy to like. It kind of saddened him that once this ordeal was over he'd go back to D.C. and probably never see her again. He quickly forced his mind back to the situation at hand.

"Okay, we got two options here," Mulder stated. "One: we try to get that truck running right now and get the hell out of here. Two: we make ourselves at home in that cabin, get some much-needed rest and get at it first thing in the morning. It's decision time, people. We're putting it to a vote. Majority wins. I vote for option number two."

"I'm for option number two. I haven't slept since we left Rachel," Sara replied.

"I don't think any of us have slept since Rachel," Scully said. "I'm with you two."

"Not that my vote counts, since majority wins, but I could sure use some rest." Grissom let out a sigh and glanced over at Sara.

"Okay, let's go check the cabin out," Mulder said, as he walked off towards the building.

Scully caught up with him and said, "God, I hope there aren't any dead bodies in there."

"Buck up, Scully. We've been in worse situations."

"Mulder, have we ever been in a _good_ situation?"

Mulder shook his head. "One of these days, Scully. Pow! Right in the kisser!"

Scully smiled and rolled her eyes.

Grissom watched the agents until they entered the cabin. Grissom turned to look at Sara and noticed that she was looking at the sky. She had a wistful look on her face and seemed to be fascinated by what she was seeing. "What are you looking at?" Grissom softly questioned.

She looked at him for a second before turning her attention back to the sky. "The sunset. Nothing compares to a California sunset. All those colors mixing together. When I was a kid, during the summer my parents would take me down to the beach every night to watch the sunset on the ocean. We'd get some ice cream and sit in the sand. No one said a word…we just watched the sun going down and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. That's what I miss most about California—the sunsets. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

Sara glanced at Grissom and realized that he wasn't looking at the beautiful sight before them, but at her. She looked into his eyes smiled shyly at him. Unable to handle his intense gaze for very long, she turned her eyes back to the sunset. Grissom took a couple steps so that he was standing right beside Sara. He reached out and gently grabbed her hand and turned to watch the sun disappear behind the mountains. The last traces of oranges and yellows, quickly gave way to the purples and pinks, which soon gave way to the rapidly darkening blue shades of the fast approaching night.

"We should probably go inside," Sara said on a sigh.

"Yeah" Grissom let go of her hand and went to retrieve his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and held out his arm for Sara to grab. She linked her arm with his and they slowly strolled to the cabin.

They entered the cabin and found Mulder trying to start a fire in the wood stove, while Scully was going through every cabinet and drawer in the room. There were several lit candles on a table in the middle of the room, which made the place seem cozier. From what you could see in the dim light, there wasn't much in the room. In what appeared to be the living area, there was an old, worn out couch, a coffee table and a recliner. A kitchen table with four chairs was in the middle of the room and separated the living area from the kitchen area, which had nothing but a small counter, a sink, a few cabinets and the wood stove. Grissom set his bag down next to one of the chairs and took a seat. Sara took a seat next to him and tried to repress a giggle as she watched Mulder struggle with getting a fire started.

"Ah ha! I finally got it!" Mulder exclaimed. He stood and took a step back to admire his work. The small flame slowly got bigger as it ignited the kindling. "All right, I got the fire started. Now it's up to you ladies to fix us some supper."

Sara and Scully both raised an eyebrow at that comment. "Oh, really?" Scully huffed. "I'll tell you what, Mr. Macho Man, you go out and kill something and I'll cook it."

Sara couldn't hold repress it any longer and she started to giggle. "I don't picture Mulder as the hunter and gatherer type."

A scowl took over Mulder's face. "You two are real funny."

"Well, there is food in the cabinets, but who knows how long it's been there," Scully informed.

"Right now I could eat just about anything. What kind of food do we have?" Mulder walked over to the cabinets and began to look through them.

Scully took a seat at the table. "There's a lot of canned vegetables, cans of soup, chili and some canned fruits."

"We could survive on this stuff," Mulder said, while pulling out a few cans of soup. "But do we have pots and pans, dishes, utensils?"

"Dishes and pans in the cabinet over the sink and utensils in the second drawer on your left," Scully replied.

Mulder checked through the cabinets and turned to his companions. "Okay, what's it gonna be? Chili? Vegetable beef soup? Tomato soup? Spaghetti Os? Chunky Sirloin Burger?"

"Vegetable beef soup sounds good to me. How about you two?" Scully asked.

"That's fine with me, but Sara's a vegetarian," Grissom replied.

"I'll have the Spaghetti Os. I used to love those when I was a kid."

"Okay, you two relax. Mulder and I will prepare dinner," Scully said, as she went to assist Mulder.

Grissom and Sara watched the FBI agents bicker while they heated up the food. They were quite an amusing pair to watch at times. They had a special kind of understanding of the other, which Grissom figured not too many people would notice. He wished he could have spent time with them under less extreme circumstances, although, throughout this whole ordeal he had come to respect them and trust them. Mulder and Scully had promised to protect them and get him and Sara through this and that's exactly what they were doing. And now here they were fixing them dinner.

Heating up soup on a wood-burning stove took a lot longer than it did on a regular stove. Mulder had rummaged through the cabinets and found a twelve pack of Pepsi, so they had something to drink besides water. It was not a moment too soon, when Scully and Mulder brought the bowls over to the table. Grissom and Sara thanked them and the four of them quickly consumed their food. Mulder finished the last of his meal and sat back taking a long drink of the hot soda.

"You know, this candle lit dinner would be kind of romantic if Grissom wasn't here," Mulder said, winking at Sara and Scully.

"Who cares about romance? I want some electricity, a phone that gets a signal, a hot shower…I want to go back to the twenty first century," Scully said.

"You and me both," Sara agreed. She thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I'd settle for a cold shower, if I could have a change of clothes."

"Well, then, Miss Sidle, Mary Poppins has a surprise for you," Grissom said. He pointed to the bag, which was on the floor next to his chair.

"No way! You brought me clothes?"

"I'm always prepared."

"You didn't by any chance stuff a tooth brush in there, did you?"

"Yeah. I have a lot of stuff in there. Take a look."

Sara smiled at him. "You're finally gonna let me see your goods?" He nodded. She rifled through the bag for a minute and pulled out a flashlight. She turned on the light and knelt down to get a better look at what was inside. "Damn, Grissom, you do come prepared." She flashed him a huge smile, which caused the corners of his mouth to turn up into a small smile. She stood and grabbed the bag. "If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to get cleaned up and change."

She shined the flashlight on the far wall where the three doors were. She knew the door on the left was a bedroom. She just hoped that one of the others was a bathroom. Opening the middle door, she let out a sigh of relief. _Thank God we have a bathroom. Let's just hope there's water, _she thought. She reached over and turned the faucet on the sink. Dirty water came out at first, but began to clear after a minute. She turned off the water and looked over at the bathtub. _All right, we have water in the sink, how about the bathtub. _She turned the knob on the tub and was relieved when the water came rushing out. _The water's not even that cold. Bonus. _She quickly cleaned up and changed clothes. She returned to the living room to find Grissom there alone, sitting on the couch.

"Where's Mulder and Scully?" she asked, while sitting down next to him.

"They went to bed."

"Oh. How come you didn't go to bed?"

"I was waiting for you. We have to share again…unless you'd rather I sleep on the couch."

"I'd never make you sleep on the couch, Grissom." She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go to bed."

Sara led Grissom to the bedroom. She released his hand as they entered the room and walked over and flopped down on the bed. Grissom closed the door and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He watched her as she lay there shining the flashlight all around the room. She shined the light on him and noticed that he was watching her intently. She set the light on the nightstand next to the bed, the beam pointing at the white ceiling, casting a faint light in the room. She rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand and looked at him. "You look beat, Grissom."

"I'm so far beyond exhaustion, I don't even know my own name. These last few days have been physically, mentally and emotionally draining," he admitted.

She reached her hand out to him. "Come here."

He took her hand and crawled onto the bed. He lay on his side facing her and brought her hand up to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles. He released her hand and reached out to touch her face. She closed her eyes as her gently rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" he whispered to her.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze and flashed him a shy smile. She reached over and turned off the flashlight, casting the room in total darkness. "Let's get some rest. We can discuss beauty tomorrow."

"Okay." He reached for her and pulled her closer to him. He lightly kissed her forehead and held her tight.

She wrapped her arms around him and let out a contented sigh. "It's kinda peaceful here, isn't it? All you can hear are frogs and crickets. It's very relaxing."

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. Within minutes they were both asleep.

_**Crime Lab** _

It was almost an hour past the start of shift. Warrick, Nick and Catherine were sitting in the break room wondering where Sara and, especially, Grissom were. Catherine and Warrick were both busy making phone calls trying to track them down. Catherine closed her phone and set it down on the table.

"I've called his house, his cell, pager. I've called Brass, and every other detective I can think of…no one knows where he is. He's not out on a case anywhere and no one in the lab has seen him since last night." Catherine let out a frustrated sigh and looked at Warrick.

"Same goes for Sara. I've called everywhere and can't find her."

"Maybe they partied too hard. Maybe they both have a bad hangover," Nick theorized.

"Grissom would have called. And I don't think a hangover would keep Sara away from work," Catherine stated.

"You don't think they're together and…" Warrick trailed off.

"God, Warrick, don't put those kinds of images in my head," Catherine said. "I really don't want to think about Grissom and Sara being together."

"Why would Grissom and Sara be together?" Nick asked. "I thought they couldn't stand each other these days."

"Oh, Nicky, you have a lot to learn."

"Wait…you're saying that they're together? Like _together?_"

"Man, how did you ever get this job?" Warrick asked. "Your observation skills need some work."

"I don't even want to think about that. That's just gross!"

"To be honest with you guys, I'm a little worried. I mean, this is not like either of them," Catherine said. "And since we have no new cases tonight, I'm going to head over to Grissom's. Warrick, why don't you head over to Sara's? Nick, you stay here in case either of them calls or shows up."

"Sure thing, Cath," Nick replied.

"I'm out of here." Warrick grabbed his coat and headed off to Sara's.

Catherine gathered her things and left to go look for Grissom. _Where the hell are you, Gil? You better not be playing hooky with Sara._


	22. 22

Thanks to Kes and to the reviewers.

Well, we're getting near the end. Just one more chapter after this.

_**Morning in California** _

Grissom woke in the morning to an empty bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he sat up. He looked around the room, but he saw no sign of Sara. He got out of bed and walked into the living room, finding it empty also. He noticed the other bedroom door was open, so he walked over and peeked inside. _No one in there, either. Did they run off and leave me? _He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He heard metal clanging and voices talking, so he peered out the window and saw Sara and Mulder looking over the old pickup. He finished up in the bathroom and made his way outside, around the back of the cabin to where Sara, Mulder and Scully were.

The hood was open on the old Chevy and Sara was leaning over the passenger side fender looking at the engine. Mulder was standing on the driver's side, his forearms resting on the fender; he was watching Sara's every move. Scully was sitting on an upside down bucket watching the pair check out the truck. Grissom walked over and pulled up a bucket next to Scully. He sat down and said, "Good morning, everyone."

Scully smiled at him and asked, "What's so good about it?"

"We're alive," Sara replied, without looking up from her task.

"Good point, Sara," Scully said.

"Okay, Sidle, what's the prognosis here? Do you think you can get this rust bucket running?" Mulder asked.

She thought for a moment and responded, "Well, I'll have to check the plugs, carburetor, the battery's dead, but it's a stick shift…so we can push start it. It's full of gas and oil and the radiator looks good…I'm fairly confident we'll be driving this thing out of here."

"You sure know your stuff, Sidle. I suddenly feel like less of a man," Mulder joked.

"I'm sure Sara could put most men to shame," Grissom commented.

"I'm not gonna argue with you on that," Mulder replied.

"So, where did you learn how to work on cars, Sara?" Scully questioned.

"My first car was a piece of junk. A 1970 Dodge Dart, it broke down all the time. My dad and brother knew a little about cars, but they got tired of working on mine. So one day my dad told me it was time to learn how to do it myself. He taught me all the basics…it's really not that difficult once you understand it."

"If you could cook, I'd ask you to marry me," Mulder joked.

Sara smirked at him. "You couldn't handle me, Mulder."

"Ooh! You're probably right."

"Quit your yapping and hand me that wrench," Sara said.

Mulder handed her the wrench and the three of them watched in fascination as Sara worked on the truck. She pulled out each spark plug, checked it and cleaned it up a little before putting it back in. She checked the plug wires and the distributor. She took the carburetor off and took it half apart, cleaning it up before putting it back together and back on the manifold. She thoroughly checked over the whole engine and made sure everything was there and in hopefully working order. Then she got in the cab and reached under the dash. She messed around with the wiring and made it to where to truck would start without a key. She got out of the cab and walked around to the front. She closed the hood and said, "All right, who's ready to push?"

Grissom and Scully stood and followed Mulder around to the back of the truck. Sara got in the driver's seat. She pushed in the clutch and put the truck in gear. She pumped the gas pedal several times to get the gas to the carburetor. "Okay, let's go," she called out the window.

Grissom, Mulder and Scully rocked the pickup back and forth a few times before they got it to move forward. They got it rolling and used all the strength they had to pick up momentum. Sara waited until the truck was moving good enough before she popped the clutch. The old Chevy sputtered a little and then roared to life. She heard her companions cheering and couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. She stopped the truck, took it out of gear and put the emergency brake on. She hopped out of the cab just as the other three were walking up.

"Damn, you're good, Sidle," Mulder declared.

"Did you ever doubt me?"

"I did, but I'll never doubt your abilities again."

"Good. Now, are we gonna stand here and chat all day, or are we gonna get the hell out of here?"

"We'll be out of here in a minute. I just have to run back inside and get my jacket," Mulder said, as he walked off.

"Would you mind grabbing my bag for me?" Grissom asked him.

"Sure, no problem." Mulder and Scully both walked to the cabin.

Grissom turned to Sara and smiled at her. She returned his smile and he reached one hand up and ran his fingers over her cheek. She narrowed her eyes at him and he shrugged. "Grease…from working on the truck."

"I don't buy that."

"Yeah, well…I didn't buy that chalk thing." He brought his hand back to his side and she playfully swatted his arm.

Mulder and Scully quickly returned. Mulder tossed Grissom's bag in the back of the truck and asked, "Who's driving and who's gonna ride in the back?"

Three sets of eyes looked at him. "I guess I'm riding in the back." He climbed in the bed and sat on one of the fenders.

"I'll drive," Grissom said.

Sara hopped back in the cab and scooted over to the middle of the seat, while Scully walked around and got in the passenger side. Grissom got behind the wheel and drove them out of there.

xx

The old truck got them back through the mountains and around the lake. It died just about a mile before reaching their turn at Turtle Rock. Without saying a word, they all got out and started walking. They were all amazed that the pickup had gotten them that far. Soon they were at the little store and Grissom placed a call to his old friend Sheriff Anderson. He told him what had happened and the sheriff said he would be right there. The four of them sat in the shade and waited for the sheriff to arrive.

Sheriff Anderson and Deputy Coe arrived at the same time, but from different directions. They quickly got out of their cars and approached the group. Mulder and Grissom informed them about everything that had occurred. Sara told them about her being abducted by Krycek and him holding her captive. The sheriff made notes about their encounter and stood quiet for a moment processing the information. "I hate to ask this, but would one of you mind riding up there with me, showing me where it is? I don't know that area too well and to be honest it's not in my jurisdiction…that's Lake County. But I can have a look and secure the scene before the local authorities arrive."

Mulder looked at Scully and she shook her head. It was no use to protest. Mulder was going back up there with or without her. "Agent Mulder and I would be glad to show you the place." Mulder smiled at her and nodded a silent thank you.

Sheriff Anderson turned to Grissom and Sara. "What about you two?"

Sara quickly spoke up. "I just want to get back to Las Vegas."

Anderson nodded. "Deputy Coe will make arrangements for you to get home." He turned to the deputy. "Do you think you can handle that Billy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Call Jim Davis and tell him I need him to fly my two friends back to Vegas. Tell him it's a personal favor for me…and that maybe next time Little Jimmy does something stupid, I'll let him off a little easier."

"Yes, sir"

The sheriff walked over to his car and called the station. He asked them to inform the Lake County authorities what had happened and that they would be there waiting for them. He walked back over to the others. "Okay, you ready to get going?"

"Yeah," Mulder replied.

Grissom reached out and shook the sheriff's hand. "Thank you, Charlie."

He shrugged. "What are old friends for?" He looked over at the deputy. "Billy, you take good care of these two."

"I will, sir."

Sheriff Anderson winked at Sara before he walked over and got in his car. She smiled and looked at Grissom who was looking back and forth between her and the sheriff. Grissom was about to ask her if she cast a spell on every guy she came into contact with, but decided against it.

"I guess this is where we go our separate ways," Mulder said, as he reached his hand out to shake Grissom's.

"I guess so," Grissom replied, while he shook Scully's hand.

"Well, it's been…interesting," Scully said, unable to come up with a fitting description.

"That it has," Sara agreed, shaking Scully's hand.

Sara reached out for Mulder's hand, but he surprised her by pulling her into a quick hug. "He's got it bad for you," he whispered into her ear. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek as he released her. Grissom shot Mulder a dirty look to which he just grinned.

"Come on, Mulder. The sheriff is waiting for us."

Mulder and Scully got in the car and the sheriff drove off. The three left standing there watched the car disappear around the turn. Deputy Coe turned to Grissom and Sara and said, "Let's get you folks back to Vegas." They got in the car and headed down the road.


	23. 23

Okay, this is it, the last chapter. I'm hanging up my keyboard. Well, maybe I won't hang up my keyboard. A huge thank you to Lady Kes and everyone who reviewed…Big hugs to everyone. __

_**Las Vegas **_

It had taken a while for Deputy Coe to track down the sheriff's friend Jim Davis. It had been the middle of the afternoon when he finally found him and it was a couple more hours before they finally took off. Jim Davis flew them to a small airport on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Grissom and Sara thanked him and made their way through the airport to find the cab that was supposed to be waiting for them. The taxi pulled up just as they were exiting the small building. They climbed in the back seat and told the driver where to take them. It was late in the evening, and they had decided to head straight for the lab, just in case anyone had been worried about them.

The cab stopped in front of the lab and Grissom tossed the driver some cash. He and Sara quickly got out and headed towards the building. Catherine came flying out the door and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw them walking up. "Where in the hell have you been? We've all been worried sick about you two."

They came to a stop a few feet in front on the seemingly frazzled Catherine. "It's a very long story, Catherine," Grissom said.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked concerned.

"We're fine now," Sara replied. "Can we talk about this inside? I need some coffee."

Catherine held the door open for the pair and followed them down the halls to the break room. Warrick and Nick were sitting at the break room table looking very stressed out. They didn't look up as the trio entered the room. "Hey, guys, look who I found," Catherine said.

"Where in the hell have you been?" Warrick asked.

Grissom pulled out a chair and sat down. "California."

"What were you doing in California?" Nick questioned.

"Long story," Sara said. She set a cup of coffee down in front of Grissom and took a seat next to him. She took a long sip of her coffee and let out a sigh. "Why are you guys here at this time anyway?"

"_Why are we here?_ We've been looking for you two all night and most of today. When you didn't show up for work and didn't call in, we got very concerned," Catherine said.

"Yeah, and you didn't answer you phones and no one had seen or heard from you since the bar yesterday morning," Warrick put in.

"You guys scared the shit out of us!" Greg exclaimed from the doorway. He rushed into the room and hugged Sara. He turned to Grissom, but he gave Greg a 'don't even think about it' look, so Greg grabbed a chair and took a seat.

"So, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Catherine asked.

Grissom and Sara shared a look and answered simultaneously. "No."

"Come on, you two. We've been out of our minds with worry and you're not going to tell us what's going on?" Nick whined.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll tell you. A long, long time ago…in a galaxy far, far away—"

"Oh, just forget it!" Catherine growled.

"Come on, everyone. Let's go to my office and Sara and I will tell you everything."

They all filed out of the break room and into Grissom's office. Grissom took a seat behind his desk and Sara stood beside him. The others gathered in front of the desk and waited with expectant looks on their faces.

Grissom looked at Sara for some reassurance. She gave him a small smile and he began the story, "It all started with our little road trip to Rachel…"

Grissom told them almost all of the details of what had happened over the last few days. Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Greg sat listening intently, with their mouths hanging open most of the time. Sara added her two cents every now and then. Over on hour had passed while they had listened to their recap of their little adventure.

"…And now here we are explaining it all to you," Grissom finished.

Catherine couldn't think of what to say. All that came out of her mouth was, "Wow!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Griss? We would have helped you find Sara," Warrick questioned.

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "We care about her too. Or do you not trust us?"

"It wasn't about trust, Nick. I didn't have time. I had to get to her as soon as possible," Grissom explained.

"Does this mean that we're not in danger anymore?" Greg asked.

"I don't know, Greg. I haven't talked to the agents about that yet."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. The story Grissom and Sara had just told was hard to believe. Everyone seemed to be trying to process the information. They found alien bodies, Sara was kidnapped, FBI agents, shadow government, conspiracies.

Warrick broke the silence. "You two should go home, get some rest. We can handle things here tonight."

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "You've had a rough couple days."

Grissom was about to protest, but Catherine raised her hand to stop him. "They're right. Go home. Relax. If we need you, we'll call you."

"Okay," Grissom said on a sigh.

"Let's get to work, guys," Warrick said. Greg and Nick followed him out of the room.

Catherine was started to get up to leave but sat back down when Sara asked, "Cath, can I speak to you for a minute in private?"

Grissom got up and made his way out the door.

Catherine watched Grissom leave and turned back to Sara. "What's up, Sara?" Sara seemed like she had something important to tell her, and Catherine had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

Sara walked around the desk and took a seat next to Catherine. She took a deep breath and let it out. "The, uh, guy that broke into my apartment and took me."

Catherine eyed her warily. "Yeah?"

Sara gave her a sympathetic look. "It was Chris." Her voice broke slightly when she said his name.

Catherine gave her an incredulous look. "Chris? Chris who?"

Sara looked away and chewed on her bottom lip. _How do you tell someone their boyfriend is a kidnapper? _She looked back at Catherine. "Chris Bezich."

Catherine shot up out of her chair. "No. No way! You've got to be mistaken."

Sara looked down at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Cath."

Catherine started pacing back and forth. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure it was him?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe this!"

"I…uh…when we saw this strange man in my apartment, Agent Scully called him Krycek. I recognized him and asked him if he was Chris Bezich…he said yeah."

"So, he broke into your apartment, knocked out Agent Scully, took you and held you captive until Grissom rescued you?"

"Yeah."

Catherine returned to her seat and dropped her head into her hands. Sara reached over and laid a hand on Catherine's shoulder. "If I ever see him again, I'm gonna kill him."

"You may have to get in line. Grissom's been plotting his demise for a couple days," Sara said.

Catherine looked up at Sara. "I'm so sorry he did that to you, Sara. God, how awful am I? You're the one who's been through this big ordeal and you're sitting here comforting me."

Sara just shrugged. "I had Grissom. He was there for me. You need someone to be here for you, too."

Catherine ran a hand over her face and stood. She smoothed out her clothes and checked her reflection in one of the glass jars on Grissom's shelves. "I got the boys. I'm sure if I need anything, they'll be there for me." She turned to look at Sara. "You need to go home and relax. Make Grissom take you out to dinner. Or just take him home and…" At Sara's raised eyebrow, she said, "Oh, never mind. I don't even want to think about it let alone suggest it."

Sara stood and walked to the door. She turned back to Catherine and asked, "You sure you're okay, Catherine?"

Catherine walked over to her and gave her a friendly hug. "I'm fine, Sara. Thank you for telling me. I know it wasn't easy for you."

Sara smiled at her and opened the door. "What are friends for?" She left without another world.

Catherine checked herself over once again. She grabbed the assignment slips off Grissom's desk and went in search of the boys.

XXXXX

Sara exited the lab to find Grissom leaning against her car. She walked over to him and asked, "What are you still doing here? I thought you'd be on your way home by now."

"I was waiting for you," he replied.

"Really?" She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

He let one corner of his mouth twist up into a half smile. "I was just thinking, since we both have the night off…maybe we could have dinner."

"Are you asking me out, Grissom?" She couldn't hide her amusement.

"Well, I do owe you a dinner."

"Oh, so that's all it is."

He quickly scanned the parking lot and reached out and grabbed her hand. "No, that's not all it is. I thought that you could come over, I'd cook you dinner and we could see where the night takes us."

A serious look took over Sara's face. She let out a loud sigh and said, "Grissom…I don't know what to do about th--"

"Okay, smart ass," he cut her off. "When you figure it out, I'll be at home." He smiled at her and released her hand.

He started walking off but stopped when Sara called his name. He turned to look at her.

"I'll be there in an hour. If that's okay with you?"

"Sure." He winked at her and walked off.

Sara was smiling and shaking her head as she got in her car. She pulled out of the parking lot wondering what was going to happen when she got to Grissom's.

XXXXX

After she took a nice long, hot shower and put on some fresh clothes, Sara headed over to Grissom's house. Her stomach growled as she entered his home and smelled the food cooking. He told her to make herself at home while he went into the kitchen to finish preparing the meal. She wandered around the living room for a few minutes looking at the butterflies on the wall. She checked out his bookshelves and music collection. She wandered over to the kitchen and decided she'd much rather look at him than anything else in his home. He pulled a dish out of the oven and glanced over at her. She was watching his every move and he wondered to himself why she seemed to enjoy watching him all the time. _Could it be the same reason why you enjoy watching her all the time? _He turned to face her. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm starved."

They ate their meal in a comfortable silence. Every now and then they'd sneak a lingering glance at each other. Sara finished her meal and took a sip of wine. "That was very good. Thank you."

Grissom pushed his plate away and grabbed his glass of wine. "You're welcome." He took a sip of wine and said, "Okay, spill, Sidle."

"Spill what?"

"Aliens, Area 51, UFOs…"

"Ah…I was hoping you had forgotten about that."

"How could I forget about that? It's been bugging me for days. So, spill."

"Okay…You know my parents were hippies?" At his nod she continued, "They had this friend, Wacky Jackie." He laughed. "I'm serious, that was her name. Everyone called her Wacky Jackie. Anyway, she was one of my mother's best friends. She swore up and down that she had been abducted by aliens. She said she was first abducted when she was thirteen and ever since then they would come and take her several times a year. Most people thought she was crazy, but my parents believed her. She used to stay with us a lot when she wasn't traveling the country trying to hide from the aliens and following the Grateful Dead. She was obsessed with aliens and UFOs. She read everything about that stuff that she could get her hands on. She studied it. She used to tell me all about her experiences and the things she had learned about the subject…so that's how I know all about that stuff."

"So, what happened to Wacky Jackie?"

"She was sent to the nut house."

"That's sad."

"Yeah, well, she tried to kill her landlord because she said he was working with the aliens, trying to steal her thoughts."

Grissom chuckled. "Are you serious?"

She nodded.

Grissom stood and reached out. "Come on; let's go sit on the couch." She placed her hand in his and he led her over to the couch. He didn't let go of her hand as they sat side by side.

"So, are you gonna tell me what you had in that bag?" she asked.

"Souvenirs."

"What kind of souvenirs?"

"Just some little alien figurines that reminded me of everyone."

"Show 'em to me."

He reached underneath the coffee table and pulled out the brown paper sack and set it on his lap. He shuffled through it and pulled out a figurine. It was a six-inch tall alien with a guitar. "This one is for Greg." He pulled out a female alien with big red lips, wearing skimpy clothes with her cleavage hanging out. "This one is for Catherine." Sara laughed. The next alien had an Afro and was holding up his hand in a peace sign. "That one's for Warrick." He pulled out another alien, which was wearing a cop's uniform. "That's Brass." The next one had on scrubs and a stethoscope around its neck. "Doc Robbins." Sara giggled as he brought out the next one. It was an alien wearing a big cowboy hat, boots and chaps. "And of course this one is for Nick."

"That's very sweet of you, Grissom. You got everyone a souvenir."

He gave her a mischievous grin. "Aren't you curious what your alien looks like?"

"I'm a little afraid of what my alien looks like," she replied.

He reached in the bag and pulled out a girl alien with brown hair. It was standing next to a table with a microscope and she had a book in her hands. He handed it over to her. "Sara Sidle, meet the alien version of yourself."

Sara took the figurine and giggled. "This is great, Grissom. I love it. Thank you."

He smiled at her. "You're welcome."

"Where's your alien?"

He looked at her a second before he reached into the bag. Sara let out a loud laugh as she saw his alien. It had on glasses and some strange looking bug on a leash. "Yeah, that's you, Grissom."

"I would never put my bugs on a leash. They're well trained, they don't need to be tied up."

Sara couldn't hold back her giggles. Grissom set the figurine down and turned to face her. "What's so funny, Sara," he asked with amusement.

In between giggles she answered, "I could actually picture you…taking your…tarantula for a walk."

She finally quit giggling and smiled at him. He took that as his opportunity to lean over and kiss her. It was a simple, quick kiss, but he had caught her completely off guard. He smirked at her, as she looked at him wide-eyed. She quickly recovered, though, and looked at him mischievously. "Is that all I get? One quick kiss?" She turned on the couch to face him.

He reached his hand up and cupped her face. "No." He leaned in and kissed her again.

Their slow, sensual kisses gradually evolved and became more passionate. They both thought that everything that had been through these past few days had been worth it, as they gave in to the moment. His lips left hers and trailed kisses across her cheek and down her neck. She ran her hands across his shoulders, up his neck and through his hair. He kissed his way back to her mouth. As they kissed, his hands ran down her back, pulling her closer to him. He let one hand wander underneath her shirt and across her bare skin. He stilled his hands and broke away from the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sara," he said breathlessly, "if you don't want to go any further, we should stop right now."

She pulled back and looked at him. She pulled his arms from around her and stood. He shot her a worried look and she reached her hand out to him. He grabbed her hand and stood next to her. She tugged on his hand, smiled at him and said, "I've always wondered what your bedroom looks like."

XXXXX

Sara awoke the next morning to the ringing of her cell phone. She reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand. "Sidle," she said groggily.

"Hey, it's Mulder. I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Don't worry about it. What's up, Mulder?"

"I was just calling to make sure you and Grissom made it home okay."

"Yeah. We're alive and in one piece."

"Good. Why are you sleeping? Shouldn't you be at work?"

"We took the night off. So, what happened when you went back up to the cabin?"

"Nothing happened. We got there and everything was gone."

"What?"

"Everything was gone…the bodies, the UFO wreckage. They even cleaned up our little mess we made in the cabin. It looks like no one was ever there."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. We came off looking like fools. The good news is that you guys are probably safe now."

"I'm so sorry, Mulder. You didn't get your proof."

"Hey, we got you back safe and sound. That's all that matters. I'm sure Grissom would agree."

"I'm sure he would."

"Hey, Sidle, I gotta hop on a place back to D.C. in a minute. I just want to thank you guys, again, for helping us. I also want to apologize, again, for everything that you had to go through."

"Don't worry about it. Some of it was actually fun and things worked out fine in the end."

"I bet they did," he said in a suggestive tone_. "I'll be patiently waiting for my invitation."_

"Invitation to what?"

"The wedding. Hey, I gotta go now. Keep in touch, Sidle."

"I will. Bye, Mulder."

Sara ended her call and returned the phone to the nightstand. She yawned, stretched and rolled over, finding a half-open pair of blue eyes looking at her. Grissom reached a hand up to push the hair out of her face. "Who was on the phone?" he asked.

She smiled at him as he ran his hand over her shoulder and down her back, pulling her closer to him. "That was Agent Mulder."

"You're federal boyfriend? What did he want?" He pulled her closer and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"He wanted to make sure we made it home okay. He also told me that when they went back up to the cabin, everything was gone."

"What?"

"Yeah. He said they cleaned the place up, made it look like no one had ever been there. The bodies were gone, the wreckage was gone."

"That had to be disappointing for them."

"Probably. He said it didn't matter, all that matters is that you guys got me back safe and sound."

"Well, he's right about that. I don't know what I would have done if--"

She placed a finger on his lips to silence him. "Nothing happened to me. I'm fine."

He kissed her fingertip before he brought his hand up to grab hers. He laced their fingers together and placed their hands on his chest, above his heart. Sara looked deep into his eyes and saw nothing but love there.

"Grissom, what were you going to say to me before we got interrupted by gunfire?"

"I was going to say, I was thinking about how I could have lost you without you ever knowing that I…love you." He placed his lips on hers and they shared a tender kiss.

Sara pulled back a little to look him in the eye. "You love me?"

"That's what I said." He started to feel a little uncomfortable. "Why? Don't you--"

"I love you, too," she cut him off.

"You do?" he asked relieved. He couldn't keep his lips from twisting up into a smile.

"That's what I said." She gave him a full-blown smile.

"So, now what?" he asked with a playful gleam in his eyes.

Sara pushed him onto his back and crawled on top of him. "Now…you show me how much you love me."

X

This is the end, beautiful friend

My only friend THE END…Oops sorry. I was having a Jim Morrison moment.


End file.
